Madness & Mendings
by Nerianna Knuu
Summary: When one of Gotham's super villains touches your life, you're changed forever. This is the story of Alice Pleasance, and how she got her life back.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The unfairness of being**

"_I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!"_ – _Alice from Alice in Wonderland_

It was unusually cold outside for September, even at 5:30 in the morning. A thick night's fog had barely even begun to roll back as morning's rays began to climb over the horizon. In a small townhouse in the suburbs of Gotham, a blonde woman sat in her pale blue robe, warming her hands around a mug of extra hot Earl Gray tea. If life had been more kind, she would have been preparing for her wedding today, but life had not been kind to Alice Pleasance.

She stared out over her little kitchen, bare of everything but the essentials. Though her father had insisted she was on her own as long as she stayed in the big city, her mother would sneak her care packages, and she was in desperate need of a mercy visit. Jobs were hard to hold down in Gotham when you were connected to a mad man, despite the fact that she had not heard a whisper from Jervis since he was first sent to Arkham.

Billy had gone the same way of everything else.

At first he was thrilled to have her back safe and sound and life had been a blessing. She kept her job at Wayne Enterprises for the next six months while she and Billy happily planned a cool autumn wedding. Her wealthy father, who had been so disapproving of his only daughter moving to Gotham, was jovial at the announcement of her engagement and had promised the couple a lovely home and a wedding befitting of his little princess. But somehow, in the blink of an eye, it all went horribly wrong.

With the Joker and the Penguin failing to excite the masses with their newest escapades, word of a new psycho in the city had caught like wildfire, and had stayed in the papers for over a year as Jervis began to prove to the public he was no flash in the pan. That was the point when the happy couple went from being minor celebrities to side show oddities.

Newspapers struggling to keep reader's interest, plagued their phones day and night, and some mornings Alice had even stumbled upon a reporter hiding in her bushes. Alice was no Veronica Vreeland, and had no way to use all this attention to her advantage. When Alice had finished clearing up the last of Jervis' files, her job security vanished. The wedding was postponed as she turned her attention to finding a new job. Things might have been ok, but the playful heckling that Billy had started receiving at work climaxed, and Billy suddenly found himself out of a job.

From that point on, after failed interviews and job leads on both ends, the wedding was pushed back yet another year until things settled down, but things never settled down. She could remember the way the man she loved changed before her eyes that following year, and became bitter and unhappy. They got into arguments constantly that ended in tears, because he blamed her for destroying his career and ultimately his life. The fact that her father had been supporting them both throughout all of this only added to the humiliation. Billy had halfheartedly agreed to postpone the wedding just one more year, but four months into it Alice was left with a note and a broken heart. She couldn't hate him for leaving. In her heart she knew that it would be much the same if the situations were reversed.

Her father had begged her to come home, but something within her refused to give up. Most people in her position blamed the Batman, but Alice knew and never let herself forget that Batman was the hero that day. Her merciful nature wouldn't even let her really blame Jervis Tetch for everything that had happened. During her time as his secretary, he had always treated her with respect. She had always felt sorry for his loneliness. After seeing the way Gotham turned on its own, it was no surprise to her that Jervis Tetch had eventually snapped.

Alice had made her mind up over coffee that morning, that her crazy life could not get any crazier, and following suit she would do something equally crazy to try and right it all in her mind…she would visit Jervis Tetch in Arkham.

The very statement was utter madness. Did she really want to see him? The answer was mostly no, but that small portion of yes that rattled around in her brain kept the scheme going. Alice couldn't even be sure what she would ask him or if she even had any real questions. She was torn between the memory of the kind hearted employer that had always let her take extra long lunch breaks, and the mad man who had accosted her in the middle of the night. Could they really be the same person? Did men really go that bad that quick?

The coffee cup made a very judgmental thud as she rested it on the table's surface with little grace. She stood up from the table with a childish sort of determination, trying to ignore the absurdity of what she was about to attempt. Arkham wouldn't let her in so easily, so Alice knew she had to enlist the help of the only man she had ever met that had any sort of power in this city. Today, she would try and visit the office of Bruce Wayne.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The best laid plans…**

* * *

"Mr. Wayne there is an Alice Pleasance here to see you."

"Send her in Julie."

Bruce Wayne drummed his finger tips on top of his desk. Why would Alice Pleasance come to see him? Could she be in danger? Keep your head straight Bruce, she came to see you not Batman.

The door opened, and the vibrant young woman he knew as Jervis' secretary looked a bit more life worn than he had remembered. He noticed right away that she had dressed very professionally with shiny new shoes to boot. Maybe she needed a job? No, she had left the company, or at least human resources had said so.

"Thank you Mr. Wayne for seeing me on such short notice."

She sat very carefully, obviously choosing her movements with care, and it made him wonder all the more at her motives.

"I have to say Miss Pleasance that this visit is a bit confusing. I don't want to seem as if I'm to important to…"

"Oh no Mr. Wayne I know you're a very busy man! I just…I have…I need…"

Bruce Wayne sat back in his chair regarding the nervous woman before him. As she tried to find her words, he took a moment to really access the situation. She was still Alice Pleasance and there was no ring on her finger, which made him wonder if her and her boyfriend were taking it slow or had called it quits. The outfit she had on was neat but well worn, so the shoes must have been her attempt at giving the illusion of a new outfit. Maybe she wanted money? He took a breath and tried to offer her a reassuring smile before speaking.

"Miss Pleasance…"

"Oh please Mr. Wayne, call me Alice."

"Alright then Alice, please call me Bruce. Let me make this easier for you. Despite the fact you left the company, we still take care of our own, past and present. I know times are hard for everyone and…"

"I don't need money Mr.…Bruce. That isn't why I came."

Alice found herself holding her breath immediately after she spoke. With a statement like that the next move was definitely hers. She watched carefully as Bruce Wayne sat back in his chair, crossing his arms and waiting expectantly for exactly why she had come. She should have assumed that money would come up. Everyone in the world was probably knocking at his door for money. When he said she had left the company her stomach churned. She didn't expect for the head of the company to know much about his underlings, but she had to admit to herself that it stung just a bit.

"I don't know how to ask you what I want to ask you. It isn't a very normal request."

She fidgeted with her purse, looking off to the side a moment.

"It isn't even a sane one. I don't know if you've heard about Jervis Tetch…"

Bruce stiffened, not at the mention of the man's name, but at the utter absurdity of the person mentioning it. "Did you say Jervis Tetch?"

"Yes he was in your developmental research department."

"I remember Jervis Tetch very well Alice. As I recall, from the papers, he abducted you from your home didn't he?"

"Yes Mr. Wayne that is all correct, which makes my request even harder to put into words."

He did take notice of the shift back to formalities, knowing that whatever this request was it was serious. "Alice please just come right out and ask me. There's no need to be nervous. If I can help I will."

"Ok here goes. I need you to call Arkham Mr. Wayne and arrange for me to meet with Jervis again. I know you have influence and I know that if you ask for it they'll do it."

Alice saw him frown immediately, and the shake of his head was not promising. The formal use of her name was even less promising.

"Miss Pleasance I think you're acting irrationally. Coming face to face with Jervis Tetch is only going to fuel his fantasy that you care for him and cause problems for you later down the road. I'm sorry."

The sound of the buzzer was a guillotine.

"Julie can you please show Miss Pleasance the door?"

Alice stood up, shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry to have bothered you Mr. Wayne."

He heard that familiar tremor in her voice as she turned and walked out. He regretted his cold disregard of her plight, but her request spelled serious danger.

* * *

"She put in her own petition to see him Alfred."

Alfred raised a brow, dusting things that didn't need to be dusted. "A petition to see who Master Bruce?"

"Jervis Tetch."

"I see. Why on earth would she want to see him?"

"I'm not sure Alfred."

Alfred watched as images of Jervis Tetch flashed across the screen of the larger computer in the Batcave. He knew from experience that these had to be Jervis' files from Arkham, but he could never make sense of them as fast as Bruce Wayne flew through them.

"Might I assume he isn't getting time off for good behavior?"

"Hardly. According to doctor's notes he's slipping farther into his delusion. He longer answers to Jervis Tetch and when they question him about his former life, he denies ever living in Gotham."

"It sounds to me, Master Bruce, as if discouraging Miss Pleasance was the right thing to do."

"Maybe Alfred, but I have a feeling that Alice Pleasance isn't going to give up so easily."

Bruce Wayne inhaled deeply, shedding himself as pulled on his cowl and prepared for the night.

"May I expect you home at a reasonable hour Master Bruce?"

As Alfred turned, he found himself alone in the cavern under the mansion as the sound of the Bat mobile exiting the tunnel filled his ears. He simply went back to tidying up things that would never find any order.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this Miss Pleasance?"

Alice nodded, trying to quell the butterflies in her stomach. She didn't want to ask her father for help, but his minor political influence was enough to do what Bruce Wayne would not. She was thankful that promises to move back home for awhile was all it took to get him to make a few calls.

The guard shrugged his shoulders casually at Dr. Bartholomew before moving out to prepare Tetch for his visitor. Alice tried to make it seem as if she were prepared for this, but every second that ticked by made her wonder if this wasn't a terrible mistake.

"Miss Pleasance I must warn you that the Jervis Tetch you knew no longer exists. I'm afraid that we can only let you speak to him through the glass, for your own safety."

Alice nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

The Guard moved back in, motioned for Alice to follow him. Even the halls leading to the communication room made her panic inside. Arkham was not only a prison but a living nightmare pieced together with shadows, gray stone, and emptiness. She was taken to a private room monitored by cameras, where two seats were separated by thick glass and walls with telephones on either side. The safety measure made her feel better, but not much.

Alice sat down, placing her purse on her lap, facing the currently empty chair in front of her. Her heart began to thud in her ears as the door across the room opened, and a slumped blonde figure was led in. Like it or not, there was no turning back now.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you to MiriahoftheWind for your review. I like comments. They keep me energized to write!_

* * *

**Chapter 3: A Serious Error **

* * *

When the figure came into the light, Alice was quite taken back by what she saw. Jervis had aged three years, not with time but with misery. Everything about him looked unkept and wild. Even his eyes darted madly as they tried to adjust to the new light before finally settling on her form.

He sat down cautiously as the guards slipped behind the massive steel door, and they were alone. They both went for the phones at the same time, both listening for the break in the silence when Jervis could hold it no more.

"Alice…?"

"Hello Jervis."

Jervis Tetch immediately pulled a look that Alice had once called the grouch face, which had once only been reserved for the likes of Dr. Cates.

"Does your precious Billy know you're here?" Jervis tried to sound dismissive, reigning himself back moment to moment in a great attempt to not seem pathetic in her eyes. The crazy man behind the glass was no image for her to take with her.

Alice sighed, "Jervis please I need to ask you some questions."

"I would offer you a spot of tea, but as you can see my accommodations are severely lacking."

"Jervis I promise I won't take up much of your time."

"Your hair wants some cutting." He said with a sneer, taking her in.

Alice took another deep breath, moments away from asking Jervis to be serious, but how do you tell a grown man obsessed with Alice and Wonderland to be serious?

"Jervis my questions…"

"Ah ha! Questions are marvelous. I have a question for you. Why is a raven…"

"Jervis!"

Jervis Tetch slammed his hands down on the tabletop, the phone carelessly flying from his hand. "Jervis Tetch is dead! There is only the Mad Hatter now!"

The door opened and the guards came in, but Alice wildly motioned for them to step back and go. The room that Jervis Tetch was in was secure, and it would take a weapon to even come close tackling the thick glass between them and Jervis did not have one , and so they stepped back behind the door, waiting.

Alice watched as Jervis composed himself, smoothing his unruly hair back and catching his breath as the red faded from his face. It was in this moment that she began to wonder if maybe he was too far gone to hold this conversation.

"Alright, Mr. Mad Hatter, can I ask you a riddle?"

"Oh yes child, I simply adore riddles."

She took a moment to formulate her question into a riddle, causing the Mad Hatter to raise a brow at her slowness.

"Why would a brilliant scientist throw it all away for his plain secretary?"

"No, no, no I don't like this game. The riddle is obvious and pointless." Jervis thought for a moment, deciding that he much preferred her tone when she used his old name as opposed to the new one. "Please call me Jervis, because your voice holds no respect when you say my real name."

Alice began to tear up, making very small sniffles as she rummaged through her purse for a tissue. She tried to hold them back, but they fell as easily as pearls upon satin.

"Jervis please, you don't understand. After the night in storybook land my whole life fell apart."

Jervis' whole body perked up. Could it be? Could she really have missed him? The wheels in his mind began turning rapidly, imagining how lonely she had been these past three years without him. He had judged her too harshly. He had written her off too easily. He would…

"You ruined everything!"

The words hung in the air like foul smog. Jervis' shoulders slumped again, and he was about to admonish her for all the anguish she put him through when the young woman before him broke down into tears that tore his heart into shreds. Behind the counter, where she could not see, his arms twitched at rising, but he could never comfort her/ Not here…not now….

It was in this moment of clarity that he really began to look her over. With her hands over her face as she wept, he could see for the first time that she wasn't wearing any sort of ring at all. Her clothes were old and worn despite her best efforts to dress neatly. Jervis began to regret all of his harsh words. No matter what they tried to tell him he knew that this woman was his soul mate and her pain was equally felt but the man across from her.

"Reporters wouldn't leave us alone after you went into Arkham. We couldn't go anywhere without having people following us."

By we, Jervis assumed she meant that Billy boy as well, and he tried to hide his distaste for the lad as best he could.

"Dr. Cate fired me because she said that without you there was no position for me in the company. Wayne Enterprises got a lot of bad publicity when the media found out one of its own scientists had turned rogue." Her tears quieted as she dabbed at her eyes and the tip of her nose with a lacey handkerchief.

"Billy lost his place in the firm, we postponed the wedding three times, he left, and I still cannot get a job."

In his chest, his heart began to thud loudly at the news that the parasite was gone from her life, and she was free for the asking once more. As he shifted in his chair, reality came crashing down on him with the rattle of his ankle chains. Caged birds were not free to fly.

"All I want to know, for my own sanity, is why it had to be me? Of all the young women who could have played the part, why did it have to be me? Is it because of my name? I need a reason for all this Jervis, so I can somehow try and move on with my life."

There was a pain in his chest, a bit of tightening that frightened him.

"You believe I targeted you?"

"I always tried to treat you with respect at work. I was a good employee wasn't I? I stood up for you, helped you, and tried to encourage you. Why would you make me the first victim?"

The notion was inconceivable to him. He had tried, the only way he knew, to make her see that he loved. She was the only ray of sunshine that could have filled a life that had known only darkness since he was a child. He would have killed for her, and she had missed the point completely.

"Alice," he put the hand not holding the phone against the glass, willing contact that was impossible.

"I did not choose you to be the first victim."

"Yes you did! You used me to help you become the Mad Hatter. I was part of some grand scheme to lure the Batman and establish your place with all the other wackos in this city. It could have been anyone. Why me?"

His chest tightened further.

"Alice you must listen to me closely, because this is all very important."

Jervis Tetch found that he was very lucid all of a sudden, clutching at fast paced thoughts whizzing in and out of his troubled brain, but the world became very clear. How could he make her understand everything that was in his heart in this setting?

"Alice I did not use you…"

"It's easy to say that now after you've become such a successful criminal."

Wacko…criminal…victim…the picture was becoming quite clear. The woman he adored most in this world thought of him as being no better than the Joker or the Penguin, possibly no better than a common pick pocket. On top of it all he had caused her poverty and ridicule at the hands of a merciless city. Alice was a delicate violet that he had left Gotham to crush under its mighty heel and leave bruised in the mud. She blamed him for everything. The tightening in his chest exploded into brilliant pain, and in an instant Jervis found himself clutching at his chest and struggling for air.

"Jervis!" Alice stood up, dropping the phone as Jervis fell to the floor, reaching for her with a shaky hand and eyes full of fear.

Her hands flew to her mouth as the guards rushed in, and started calling for a medic. The last thing Jervis saw as his world went black was his Alice, being led out the opposite door.

* * *

"She still isn't picking up."

"Well you did leave her high and dry."

"I did not leave her high and dry!"

"Hey William, calm down, I'm only saying."

"Saying what Adam?" William sighed, pushing away his morning cup of coffee.

Adam smoothed back his red hair before sliding his friend's coffee back over to him, also handing him a powdery donut whose outer layer mostly ended up on his pants.

"I'm saying that she isn't ready to pick up yet, because when two people fall out of love…"

"Crap Adam, what are you trying to do to me this morning?"

"Whoa easy with the foul language buddy, you know Mr. Poddle can't stand cussing in the office."

William bent his head forward, resting his forehead against the palms of his hands in a drained manner. His eyes darted up a bit, looking to the picture of the happy couple on his desk and the blonde smiling back at him. "I didn't stop loving her. We didn't fall out of love."

"Yeah but William it sort of sends mixed signals to a girl when you send her a Dear John letter a few months before you get married. That was about six months ago wasn't it? Maybe she moved on."

Both men stopped chattering as an aged gentleman with gray eyes passed by, looking to the desks of both men to make sure much writing and calculating was going on. The moment he was out of range Adam tossed the book aside he had picked up, but William kept scribbling figures.

"Geez William, every time old man Toddle walks by you act like you're about to get booted out the door."

"This job was hard to find Adam you know that. Out in the suburbs they hardly care about the Gothamites and the super villains they've created. In Gotham, just having spent the same time in an area with one is enough to get you black listed. That's why I had to go and Alice made no sign she would come."

"You didn't give her the chance."

Will slid his calculator closer, punching in a few figures, which led the chewy destruction of his pencil when they didn't seem to add up. "I hate being an accountant."

"No you don't Will my boy, and neither do I. I just don't like being an accountant the whole day, like right now I'm enjoying being a psychiatrist."

"Her father wanted her to come home, and he expected me to go with her. After that Jervis Tetch went off the deep end neither of us could get jobs. I couldn't stand marrying a woman I couldn't provide for."

"But, now you can so you expect her to just come home?"

"I know it isn't that easy, but everything has a first step."

William picked up the phone again, waiting for someone to pick up.

The answering machine clicked on and his heart sunk. "Alice baby, it's Billy, I really want to talk to you. Please just call me. My number at the new house is 555-6792. I hope you're ok."

* * *

"Alice sweetheart it's daddy, can I come in? I hope you're ok."

Alice sat in the middle of her childhood bed, unpacking. She had stopped crying a few hours ago, comforted by the familiar lavender walls of her childhood bedroom. "I'm here daddy."

"Oh precious it's so good to have you home." Her father sat on the bed, moving her piles of clothes into other piles. "Coming right here was the best choice you've made in ages,"

"It was all so horrible. He wasn't the man I knew at all daddy, he's totally gone. Then he just started gasping for air and clutching his chest. I don't even know if I killed him."

"You didn't kill him pumpkin; someone would be contacting daddy's lawyers if you did."

Alice frowned inwardly as she stood up to place her clothes into the dresser across from the door. Her father always had a way of talking to her as if she were still nine, instead of twenty six. She looked at the fluffy white teddy bear near her lamp as the last of the blouses were safely tucked away. Maybe being nine again wouldn't be so bad, life was certainly easier.

"Listen pumpkin, mummy and I want you to go out tomorrow morning and get some things for yourself. You know what your mother says about shopping." Alice's father smiled, taking an envelope from his pocket. "Maybe the two of you can go together?"

"I think I need some time to myself."

"Alright darling," he walked over and kissed her forehead, putting the envelope in her hand. "If you need anything we're here."

Alice shut the door after him, and when she turned around she had the shock of her life at the man standing behind her.

"I see you've survived your trip into Arkham Miss Pleasance. You may not be so lucky next time."

Alice fumbled for her chair, barely finding the seat. "Batman…how…" She looked to the window, guessing that it wasn't really that hard for someone like him to just appear in her room. She did have a balcony after all.

"Please do not go to see Jervis again. It isn't safe to give him hope."

"I guess that means he's alive? That's a relief. He scares me a lot but I would never want to kill anyone. I won't go see him again; I just can't reach him I suppose."

When Alice looked up, the Batman was gone from her room the same way he came… suddenly. She guessed that her promise not to go back was all he really came for in the first place.

She stood up and went over to her bed, flopping down backwards. "Life is continuing to be too weird for me."

* * *

"Your test results are back Mr. Tetch. All tests pertaining to a heart attack were negative."

Jervis Tetch stared straight ahead, watching a fly as it walked across his line of vision on the wall. He had finished tugging at the bindings that held him down hours ago.

"In case you're interested Mr. Tetch, it was a severe panic attack. They can sometimes mimic heart attacks, but our labs don't lie. We're going to prescribe Klonopin to see if we can't settle your nerves. Mr. Tetch? Are you listening to me?"

There was a sudden jerk of his body and his face contorted in pain, but he didn't make a sound. He just kept looking at his left arm, twitching and pulling it and making the veins bulge in an ugly manner.

"Mr. Tetch?"

"My…my…arm…"

Wondering if his restraints weren't finally cutting off the circulation, the nurse rushed over, bending to examine them. Unfortunately they weren't very tight at all, and it seemed the patient actually had enough room to move them freely within the confines of his bed. It was also enough room to wiggle a card from its hiding place and tuck it behind her ear, leaving her green eyes lifeless.

"You think mere chains can bind the Mad Hatter? What a foolish game of chance your hospital has played with your life."

The woman stood, doll like in her vacancy, awaiting orders.

"Now take the key in your pocket and unchain me."

The woman did so without hesitation, allowing the Mad Hatter to stand and stretch his limbs. Jervis smiled like the cat that got the cream, doing a small victory dance. "It was almost too easy. That card had other purposes but I suppose this one has served me well enough."

He picked up the bottle of Klonopin, putting it in to her small hand. "I'm sorry I must go so soon without even offering you a bit of tea, but you see I have grave misunderstandings that I have to correct."

Jervis Tetch then guided her closer to the bedside table where water had been left for him earlier that morning. "In the mean time, why don't you take this entire bottle of medication, and let me know if you find wonderland.'


	4. Chapter 4

_I want to thank everyone for their patience as I worked on this next chapter and a HUGE thank you for those kind enough to review. I hope chapter 4 has been worth the wait!_

* * *

Chapter 4: The Doll's House

"Two weeks and she hasn't even given any sign she's going to wake up. Damn Jervis Tetch."

Commissioner Gordon sat bedside in the hospital, unflinching when he felt a strong hand grip his shoulder.

"This wasn't your fault."

"Easy for you to say, you didn't assign a family friend to look after a madman that killed her."

Gordon took the hand of the redheaded woman in the bed, making a face as he listened to the monitors beep in the same monotonous way they had been since she was found after Tetch's escape.

"She was a good nurse Gordon. She had sworn to watch over everyone, and that includes people like the Mad Hatter."

"It's days like these I'm sure it isn't time aging me, it's Gotham." He stood, turning to face his old friend. "Didn't you find anything at all?"

Batman moved to the window, his cape fluttering behind him like a living shadow. He stiffly shook his head, looking out into the night. "Tetch is laying low. After two weeks I had hoped he would have made some sort of move, but so far no luck."

"He'll do something stupid sooner or later. The temptation in this city is too great."

Batman thought a moment, creating what would have been uncomfortable silence with anyone else. "I don't think his mind is on common crime."

"Why do you say that?"

"Alice Pleasance went to see him the day before he escaped."

"I know. Her father bugged the DA's office until we finally had to grant her access to see him." Gordon lifted his coat off the chair as though it weighed a ton. Batman could see that the job was wearing him down, and silently wondered when the same thing would happen to him.

"I think he's planning a strike. Maybe some sort of revenge for helping them put him away."

"Well we'll just have to keep an eye on her until he pops his head up. If Gertrude doesn't pull through, I'm going to take extra pleasure in hauling him back to Arkham." Gordon turned to find he was alone.

"I hate when he does that."

* * *

"Jervis, it's perfect!"

Harley Quinn bounced from one end of the room to the other, as Pamela Isely stood in the doorway with arms crossed; both dressed like normal women for once.

"I'm not sure I approve of this Jervis. How on earth are you going to keep her here?"

Harley's whirlwind of motion finally landed her practically on top of her friend, grinning from ear to ear. "Awe come on Red, I think it's romantic!"

In the background Jervis could hear the two bickering, but it was only a distant sound to him, because his reality contained only this room and the work he had put into it. His fantastical side had settled on lavenders and creams because they were girlish and she had always worn them to work. Other voices had driven him to give her a woman's bedroom set of mahogany with a four poster bed and a large dresser to put clothes in he hoped to buy for her over the years. Perhaps one day when she was used to him she could go back to having a career, but Jervis rationalized that the first year would be a hard adjustment.

"I cannot thank you enough Miss Isley for this opportunity. The unused space under your greenhouse has made a lovely underground home."

"No Jervis, it's lucky for you that the government had used this property to house weapons and then abandoned it before I ever turned the building overhead into a greenhouse, otherwise I never would have had the space."

"Either way, it doesn't matter." Jervis hardly looked at either woman as he spoke; carefully arranging the things on the vanity, first impressions were very important after all.

Harley squealed with delight as she flopped on the bed, ruining the pristine surface. "It's like somethin' outta one of those love novels, just like me and Mista J."

"I've got news for you Harley, the only time the Joker is ever going to take you underground is in a pine box." Pamela frowned a bit, crossing her arms again and leaning against a wall.

More arguing continued that was actually more yelling on Pamela's part and whining and sobbing on Harley's. Jervis mused at what emotional creatures women were, and yet all different. Pamela was stern and reclusive and often very angry, whereas Harley was prone to more rapid changes of emotion. That is why he adored his Alice, even though she was also prone to crying, she was a gentler woman with more sophisticated sensibilities.

Jervis smiled broadly as he ran his hands over the cover of a lovely wooden jewelry box. "Harley, do you remember what I asked you to do?"

The young blonde stopped her screaming smiling brightly at Jervis despite the choke hold her companion had her in. "Of course! Don't you worry your little head Hattie, just leave everything up ta' me!"

* * *

Alice browsed through the clothes at one of the fancier department stores near her childhood home. Normally she made every attempt to stay out of these stuffy places, but her father knew the shop owner and had said she would be expected. Heaven forbid that she come home without stopping by to say hello, which would still be a problem, because as she picked up another blouse to try on, it occurred to her that she had not seen Mr. Grimble since she stepped in.

"Can I help you find anything miss?"

Alice looked up, gasping as she came face to face with another blonde haired, blue eyed woman who was smiling at her like…like…well like the Cheshire cat. "Umm, no I'm alright thank you. Is Mr. Grimble in today?"

"Oh no he's on his lunch break, but I was told to help you with anything you needed. Ooo! Ain't these nice? I mean," the woman cleared her throat, pushing up her glasses," aren't these lovely?"

Alice blinked a few times, just staring at the scarf that had been thrust in her face. The saleswoman had gone from being very proper to, almost comical in a matter of seconds, and then back. It was almost troubling.

"It's very nice, I'll just try it on with this outfit." Alice took the scarf slowly before heading off to the fitting rooms.

Pamela Isely slid out from behind the curtain that closed off the back room, sauntering over to where the young blonde saleswoman stood. "She's never going to buy this Harl, the young girl has to be more intelligent than this. The whole thing reeks of suspicion."

"Nah Red, she's as trusting and innocent as Jervis said she was."

"I still don't see why you agreed to help him, and why you're dragging me along for the ride."

"Awe come on Red," she put her arm around the taller woman's shoulder, "Didn't Jervis help us out plenty a times? Remember the neat trial he helped us put on?"

"I remember that it failed and we all got extra time and less freedom for it."

"Yeah but wasn't it a great joke? Don't you remember the look on old Bat's face? Priceless! You can't pay for jokes like that!"

"Harley I think sometimes that maniac really has scrambled your brain."

"Hey now, Mista J…quick hide I can hear her coming out! Oh, and keep Mr. Grumbles back there quiet or she's gonna hear us!"

The red head seethed inside, turning back to her hiding place with the aging store owner. She didn't like it when Harley was assertive, and if this kept up, it would be the end of her collaboration with the infamous Mad Hatter.

Alice had heard mumbling and bickering the entire time she was in the dressing room, but since it was rude to eavesdrop she was pleased that most of it was too mumbled to hear. She looked over the dress she had settled on, pleased to be adding the green dress to her otherwise pastel wardrobe. Maybe she needed a change.

"I'm ready." She laid the garment on the counter, looking around for the other customer she had heard from in the back, surprised to find that once again, she and the blonde were very much alone.

"Oh this is lovely!"

Alice nodded, trying not to make eye contact as she dug around in her purse for the envelope her father had given her. She silently wondered to herself if lovely was the only adjective the salesgirl knew.

"Ok let's see that will be…ummm….." She jabbed at the register with a few fingers, laughing nervously as it did nothing.

Alice jumped for the second time since she entered the shop as a red headed woman came from the back room, smiling only slightly as she nudged the blonde woman away.

"I'm very sorry for my colleague, but she's new." The red headed woman rang the dress up easily before folding it. "That will be 150. May I put this on your tab?"

"Oh, no I have enough here." Alice laid the money on the counter, watching the red head with a very uneasy feeling. The woman's green eyes screamed malice and her calm tone almost made her feel like she was in some horror movie.

"It would be a shame to wear such a beautiful dress without something to go around your neck, wouldn't it?"

"You got that right." The blonde nodded dreamily, yelping as the red head stepped on her foot. "Oh right! Mr. Grum…I mean Mr. Grimble asked us to give this to you, and say hi to daddy for him!"

The blonde pulled out a very lavish looking velvet box which she opened, revealing a very expensive looking pearl necklace. "It'll go great with the dress!" She snapped it shut and slipped it into the shopping bag that the red headed woman had just finished packing.

"That was very thoughtful of him, a bit weird, but very thoughtful. I guess that's it so, thanks for all your help and please tell Mr. Grimble I'm sorry I missed him."

Alice slid the bag off the counter, taking a hurried pace to the door. As she glanced back to the two women waving from the counter, she was even surer that this place gave her the creeps. The final bell and thud of the door was the most comforting thing she'd heard all morning.

As soon as Alice was out of sight, Pamela folded her arms, offering a nasty side glance to her companion. "You really are incompetent sometimes."

"Oh Red! You came to my rescue just in time!" She threw her arms around her friend, who couldn't help but smile despite her self.

"…and I always will Harl, and don't you forget it."

* * *

"Oh darling you're home very early. Did you find everything you needed? You don't have many bags."

Alice kicked the door shut behind her, unloading a bit of the burden of her shopping spree on her cheerful mother, who began looking through bags before she even set them down.

"Only a few dresses mom, and some cosmetics to replace the ones I didn't think to grab before leaving." Alice set the rest on the floor, plopping herself down in the chair by the door. "I had the oddest experience at Mr. Grimble's."

"Oh well naturally dear, I always thought of Edward Grimble as a very eccentric man, and if he wasn't one of your father's best friends, I don't think I would ever have given him the time of day."

"No mother, that isn't what I mean. Mr. Grimble wasn't there at all and in his place were two really weird sales women. The blonde was a bit ditzy but ok, but the red head really gave me the creeps." She kicked her shoes off, watching her mother take the velvet box out of the last bag. "They also gave me that."

"Oh, Alice! It's delightful isn't it? Why on earth did they give you this?"

"I have no idea, they just said Mr. Grimble had asked them to give them to me."

"Well," her mother said, holding the pearls up to her own neck in the mirror, "I certainly love them. Wear them to dinner tonight darling, they will make an impression."

"They're just pearls."

"No Mr. Grimble, eccentric as he may be, always had an eye for jewelry, and these are very tasteful and very expensive. Daddy will be pleased at his generosity."

Alice practically had to fling herself out of her chair to stand, strolling over to her mother to take the pearls from her. "What did you say about dinner?"

"Meet us at eight darling at the little French restaurant on Burgum Street. Daddy is entertaining clients tonight and I'm sure he'll want to show off his beautiful daughter."

Alice nodded numbly, thinking only of her tired feet and the shower that awaited her. Her mother's careful instructions about where the cab money was and which dress she should wear went in one ear and out the other as she neared her room. The last sound she heard in the house was the click of the door as her mother left to go to the hairdresser.

The bath she drew about twenty minutes later was deliciously soothing and erased the miseries of the day quite nicely. Time alone, however, proved to be a dangerous thing as Alice's mind began to wander to the anxiety of being back in this house, the loneliness of life without Billy, and the terrifying scene of Jervis clutching his chest behind the glass. He really had lost his mind like Batman said, and she was sure that the man she knew had been snuffed out behind Arkham's dismal walls.

When she exited the bath, she dressed in the green gown she had bought earlier, and after her hair was dry she debated over the pearls. The woman she saw in the mirror was beginning to look a lot older than she was, and it made Alice think that tonight was the time to start living again. She didn't need a boyfriend, but it sure would boost her confidence to catch the eye of some young executive tonight. With a bit of modest makeup she was ready, all except the pearls which she lifted from the velvet box with trembling hands. She would be the belle of the ball tonight with these, if only in her own mind. Once the clasp was fastened behind her neck, Alice heard a small beep, and numbness washed over her small form. Before she had time to make sense of the situation, she found herself walking to the bathroom door, down the steps, and out her front door into the chill of an October night.

It was just as it had been that night in storybook land. Alice was aware of everything around her, but as hard as she tried she could not make her treacherous feet turn around and flee back to the safety of her parent's home. A black car pulled up in front of her, and just as the back passenger door opened, she felt a sharp pain around her neck and immediately collapsed. The world spun around her while she coughed and tried to clear her vision. The only sound she could hear was the car peeling away in the darkness, and reality did not come back into her brain until she looked up into the face of the Batman, examining the broken strand of pearls.

"Miss Pleasance, are you alright?"

She allowed herself to be helped up, registering that the pain in her neck must have come from Batman ripping the necklace from her. "What just happened?"

"Police found Mr. Grimble tied up in the storage room of his shop, with no apparent theft involved. He said that two women, one red head and one blonde, came in and tied him up and tossed him behind the curtain."

"I saw those women today! They gave me those." She gestured to the pearls, almost touching them, but too wary to do so.

"Mr. Grimble is very lucky to be alive Miss Pleasance. I had no idea if this was the Mad Hatter's work, but I decided to come and check on you anyhow. It's lucky I did, because you were headed straight for that car."

"Do you think Jervis was in that car?"

"By the way it took off, I would say so."

Alice rubbed her neck. "You didn't go after him."

"I want to see what he's up to first. You'll be safe Miss Pleasance, I'll keep an eye on things."

"I guess that makes me feel better." When she looked up, once again he was gone, somewhere out in the night. "But I'll never get used to that."

* * *

"Why did you stay and fight?"

There was no answer from the blonde man, sitting in a slumped position on the edge of a lavender bed.

"Awe Hattie I'm sorry, if I had only offed the guy it would have bought you more time."

"I knew this was going to fail from the start, because Batman knows all of our tired old tricks." The red headed woman stood against the frame of the door, arms crossed. Tonight Pamela was Poison Ivey, dressed in full, looking to Harley who had also donned her alternate persona for the night.

Harley patted Jervis' back, trying to look hopeful. "Next time you should really go for the jugular."

"Miss Quinn, I have worked too hard to get out of Arkham and set all this up, to be sent back in one poorly planned tangle with the Batman."

"So what are you going to do?"

"The only thing I can, find some new tricks.


	5. Chapter 5

_Happy are the times I get a chance to sit down and write again…I'm going to start Chapter 6 right away I promise!_

_A huge thanks to all of those who have reviewed and will review. I hope you enjoy the next installment of our saga.  
_

* * *

**Chapter 5: This must be a Joke…..er**

"No, no, no!"

"But puddin' it's only for a lil' while." Harley let the Joker's green hair glide around her fingers as she ran the tips over his scalp in a soothing motion. Beneath her loving touch, Gotham's greatest madman grumbled and protested at barely a whisper.

"Harle I have told you time and time again, when I'm stuck in Arkham you can have your girl fun, but when I'm out you're to be here helping take care of Batsy!" The Joker sat up, putting his hand to Harley's cheek, and shoving her off the back of the couch.

It never fazed her anymore when he was violent. Kisses and kicks were all the same in this relationship where the Joker was most definitely the master, and Harley was undeniably the servant. She dusted herself off and popped back up, rather like a jack in the box, smile just as wide and just as vacant. "Awe puddin' pie, we owe Jervis a lot, remember that whole trial where he slipped the gaurds…"

"I am so sick of hearing about that silly trial! I've almost rid the city of Batman hundreds of times and no one gives me a medal!"

"But puddin'….."

"No butts! If you leave, don't you dare come back!"

It hurt every time he said it, and every time she tried to smile like it didn't bother her. She ran over, jumping into his arms, thankful that this time he caught her. She placed the tenderest of kisses on his lips, despite the fact that her warmth was met with steely indifference. "You'll see I'll be back before ya even miss me."

Slipping out of his arms, she walked off, humming a cheerful tune. It wasn't often that she went against his orders, so it had to be assumed that helping the Mad Hatter had somehow become more important than being with him. In that moment the Joker felt jealousy and his annoyance grew towards the young woman who always managed to make him feel it. She was a curse on his life, a blot on his existence, a plague on his brilliance...and yet watching her walk out the door disrupted his life far more than he cared to admit. The Joker sat at his desk, putting another pin into the eye of his Batman voodoo doll.

"So because Jervis is in love, I have to put my plans on hold?" The Joker listened, waiting for wisdom. It only took a few moments for his deformed lips to spread ear to ear in a Cheshire grin. "Such an easy fix. More work than I wanted but sacrifices must be made for the cause."

Anger turned to malicious glee as he picked a shot gun up off the table, which he pointed at the card table full of lackeys below. The men stood up as three or four bullets sent both the cards and the chips flying into the air.

"Look alive boys! We have mischief to make…"

"This is lunacy Gordon, utter lunacy!"

* * *

"Tom I need you to calm down."

"I will not calm down while there is a mad man on the loose after my only daughter. What are you doing to protect her?"

Commissioner Gordon watched as Tom Pleasance paced back and forth in his office, almost wearing groves in to the wood. Angry citizens were never a good way to start out one's day, but irate parents were always the worst. "Batman is…"

"No, you are not putting my daughter's life in the hands of the Batman. He is as unstable, if not more so, than the monsters he has created."

The debate about Batman was getting old, and Gordon simply knew he didn't have the energy to wage that war today.

"It will be taken care of. The Mad Hatter is actually very predictable. Now that we know…"

"Now that you know what, that he escaped from Arkham? No one seemed to know that! That he would try to kidnap her once he was free maybe? It's funny Gordon, but I never saw a single guard outside my house before this."

"Tom…"

"I'm sorry Gordon this is just more than a man can take. She's my little girl, you have children, surely you understand?"

Commissioner Gordon nodded, running his hands through his gray hair. He gave a side glance at the window before walking over to where Tom Pleasance sat, staring out into nothing. Finding his own seat on the corner of his desk, Gordon clasped his friend's shoulder. "You have to trust me."

Tom Pleasance sat up a bit, looking as though another verbal barrage was on the horizon, but a hand silenced him.

"I know that a lot of people in this city think Batman is the menace, but I have to tell you Tom, I'm out on those streets every day. Batman is the only thing that keeps all those maniacs from running all over us like cockroaches."

"I'm sending her to her Aunt's house out of town until this blows over. I cannot sit around and wait to see when that criminal will make another move."

"I understand," Gordon nodded, "I'll even arrange for a police driven car to take her."

"Thank you."

Tom Pleasance stood, taking his coat in his hands, but not wearing it out into the chilly evening. He moved to the door like someone in a dream, allowing the thoughts in his head to completely take over. Gordon frowned as the door shut. Tom Pleasance was an arrogant man who let his wealth and his influence rule the way he treated people. He could remember Tom as he was in High School, always bragging and putting others down to suite him, and for the life of him he couldn't recall how they had become friends. But they did become friends, and even though Tom was very guilty of treating him like a common civil servant most of the time, it was days like today when Gordon remembered he was human…and vulnerable.

When Alice was born, it was the first time anyone could remember seeing the honest side of that man. He beamed with honest pride and for the first time since Gordon had known him, he was full of the generous spirit. He had never gotten to know Alice when she had grown older, since age and a difference of opinion had split the two men, but he remembered the friendship well enough to give her his vote of recommendation when Bruce Wayne's company was looking for an assistant to one of its brightest up and coming scientists.

Jervis Tetch...

The name was enough to turn his stomach. Gordon had pegged him as a minor trouble to the city when he was first arrested, but as the years passed, the Mad Hatter had proven himself just as radical and dangerous as the Penguin and Two Face. The only villain whom Tetch had yet to match psychotically was the Joker, but at this rate Tetch was well on his way.

He had to wonder, if he had never given Alice Pleasance that recommendation, would this all be happening? Would she have still made it into the company as fate had intended? Then there was Gertrude…if he never started this dreadful landslide, he wouldn't be heading to her funeral mass in an hour.

All these ifs tumbled around in his brain, as he caught a flash of black out of the corner of his eye. "I knew you were listening."

"Jervis Tetch has almost completely fallen off the radar."

"Tell me something I don't know. What I do need to know is how we are going to catch him."

"Leave that to me. Sooner or later he'll surface. You worry about getting Miss Pleasance to her Aunt's house safely."

"Trust me Batman, we will." Commissioner Gordon turned his back on the window to his office, not needing to look back to know he was now alone.

* * *

Alice paced back and forth between her bureau and her suitcase without enthusiasm. The neat row of sweaters and skirts folded before her was becoming an inconvenient habit. She had finally started to get used to being home again, and now she had to flee somewhere else.

All she could think about was that black car and what would have waited for her within. Was Jervis intent on killing her for helping to send him to Arkham? She knew he was unstable…would his infatuation turn to fury the moment he had her alone? She read the stories in the papers like everyone else and knew he was capable of great madness…that was why they called him the Mad Hatter, wasn't it? Names don't stick without something to back them up.

Her thoughts would have progressed had the phone in her room not rung. Her mother and father were out in the garden, waiting for her to join them before the police escort picked her up, so she knew no one would answer the phone. She wandered over, picking it up and putting the receiver to her ear. "Hello?"

"Alice? Baby? It's me, please don't hang up.."

"Billy?"

"It's so good to hear your voice."

Alice stayed silent, closing her eyes as she listened to her heart pound in her chest. They had not spoken since he left her, and hearing his voice brought lots of painful memories rushing back. "Billy…I… I can't talk right now."

"Alice baby please, just listen to me. I know I've been an idiot…"

"Billy I'm sorry, I can't talk about this right now, maybe when everything is over but not now."

"No Alice, wait! Please just…"

The click of the phone settling back in the cradle was louder than usual, and very painful to hear. She had waited months to hear from him, but the timing was horrible. Jervis Tetch had ruined their relationship once, and bringing Billy back into the mix now would only complicate an already disastrous situation.

Outside her window, she saw a black car pull up, but it didn't honk. She immediately began to walk out of the room to let her parents know she was going, but then the thought struck her. Whether she had realized it or not she had begun to cry and her parents would want to know what had happened. Dealing with her fathers incessant questioning was beyond her at the moment, so swiftly she made the decision, closing her suitcase and heading down the stairs and out the door. With one last look at her parent's home, she opened the back door of the car and climbed in.

She didn't expect a police escort to treat her like her father's drivers, and instead of waiting for him to put the luggage in the trunk, she tossed her small suitcase on the seat next to her. Pulling her Aunt's address from her pocket, she tapped on the drivers shoulder.

"Sir?"

The man in front of her didn't move an inch, and that dull thudding started in her chest. "Pardon me Sir if you can just take a moment I have the address here in my hand."

Alice immediately began to regret just hopping in this car without talking to the driver or letting her parents know she was leaving. The driver in front of her was as still as death, and to her horror, when her small hand fumbled for the handle to get back out, she found it to be locked. She sat back, taking quick breaths as she assessed her predicament. Mustering up her courage, she leaned forward and pulled on the drivers shoulder. His head slumped to the side and it was then that she noticed his snow white pallor and the unhealthy smile plastered on his dead lips. She was distracted with the terror rising in her throat and she barely noticed the man crouched down in the passenger's seat. When he finally popped up and she saw his face, it was then that she screamed.

There in front of her was the Joker, and seeing him in person was the most horrifying moment of her life. Words wouldn't come, and having no desire to strike up a conversation with Gotham's most famous masochist, she began to frantically tug and bang on the back door of the car to no avail.

The Joker laughed very casually, obviously delighted at the young woman's panic. "Don't be so nervous blondie, when we get where we're going everything will be fine."

He pushed a button on the console, and a window rose up separating the back seat from the front. Alice's panic continued until she noticed a greenish gas coming from the air conditioning vents. Before she could do or say anything, her world went black and she lay strewn across the seat.

"Yes everything will be fine," he opened the door, shoving the corpse out onto the hard asphalt, "and my life can get back to normal."

The car drove away, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Pleasance pleasantly unaware that their daughter was currently being delivered into the hands of Jervis Tetch.

* * *

"Oh Harley, I just don't think it's going to work." Jervis sighed, holding his head in his hands. "Oh would not, could not…"

Pamela Isley lay on the bed that Jervis had intended for Alice, barely listening to him and Harley plot ways in which to kidnap the girl under the Batman's nose. She sighed, wondering why on earth she was entertaining all of this when she had more important things to worry about, like her freedom. She had only been out of Arkham a short while, and if she got caught for something ridiculous like a kidnapping she would never forgive Harley. But then again, she always forgave Harley.

"Awe come on Jervvy, just keep at it. If you can get her out, maybe I can sweet talk my puddin' into distracting Batty."

"You should know Harle I don't play sidekick to anyone."

All three conspirators in the room stopped dead, turning to see the Joker standing in the doorway, holding an unconscious Alice in his arms. "Here you go Hatty, catch!"

Jervis, looking shocked, but stood up in the nick of time as the Joker unceremoniously tossed Alice at him. Though he caught her, he was not unaware of the steadying hand of Harley that had kept him from completely falling back. He would have turned to thank her, had the Joker not stomped over, taken her by her hair, and pulled her towards the door. The treatment of his friend was uncalled for, but his Alice lay nestled in his arms, and if Harley was happy, who was he to step in her way. Staying with that madman was her choice after all.

"Awe puddin' I knew you'd come to the rescue!"

"I didn't do it for you! I didn't do it for him either!" He flung her to the ground, and Pamela stood, rushing to her friend's side, frustrated to see the blond still smiling.

"Really Joker, you have no class." Pamela frowned, helping Harley up. One day they would find the Joker's body lifeless in the city, and she would happily commend him back to the earth from whence he came.

"I did this so you all remember that if anyone gets anything done in this city, it's me. I was the only one brilliant enough to pull this off. Don't forget it!"

Harley swooned, letting the Joker pull her close. "Consider this an early Christmas present. I don't think I need to tell you Jervis, to be careful with your new toy. She looks like she breaks easily."

His laughter could be heard echoing down the hall as Harley prattled on about how brilliant he was. For her part, Pamela became instantly dark and moody, and she slipped from the room without a sound, closing the door behind her.

Jervis was still staring at the young woman in his arms…he had her…now what to do with her.


	6. Chapter 6

_Here it is, as promised, Chapter 6 out MUCH sooner than I was able to produce Chapter 5. For those of you who have been faithfully following this plot, you may have noticed the chapters get longer as I go. I cannot begin to thank those that keep reading reviewing enough, because it's giving me the momentum to keep going and keep expanding these chapters. For those who you who just found this story today, I hope you finding it enjoyable. Cheers and thanks again!  
_

**Chapter 6: Tea & Talk**

Mrs. Pleasance sobbed very hard, so hard that their family doctor had made a special trip to the house to give her something for her nerves. Outside, Mr. Pleasance was berating a police officer, doing the only other thing a man can do when he is incapable of tears…blow up.

Commissioner Gordon had been beside himself when he got the call that another colleague was dead due to Jervis Tetch. His anger turned to bewilderment and great concern when he actually got to see the grinning corpse of Lt. Andrews Sereson. There was absolutely no reason for the Joker to get involved with Jervis Tetch's plan, and yet here was the proof, etched into the face of one of his most trusted officers. Telling his fiancé was going to be the hardest thing that he had had to do in a very long time.

Tom Pleasance came flying out of the house as soon as he noticed the Commissioner on his front lawn. What happened next shocked everyone into momentary silence, as a punch landed Gordon on the ground, and the rolling and scuffling of the two men nearly took them right out into the street.

"I trusted you! I trusted you and looked what happened! He's going to kill her and if he does…"

As the shock wore off, the police training kicked in, and it wasn't long before Commissioner Gordon had Tom Pleasance pinned to the ground with his face in the dirt. Pulling handcuffs from his pocket, he secured his hands behind his back before standing and dusting himself off. "Tom I need you to calm down. Don't forget I just had to zip up a good police officer in a body bag and that I have to tell his family tonight."

"You had better send one of your men if you have to come and speak to me about Alice, because I cannot guarantee what I will do!"

"Officer Bridges, please put Mr. Pleasance in the back of you squad car until he calms down and is no longer a danger to himself or others."

"Yes sir."

As her husband was put into the back of the squad car, Mrs. Pleasance came running out, looking terrified.

"Oh, Tom Should I call a lawyer? Gordon, what could you possibly be charging him with? You don't really think he's the reason Alice is missing do you?"

"Helena I don't think Tom did anything, but he just attacked me, and violence isn't going to get us anywhere or allow me to think."

Helena Pleasance looked down to the handkerchief in her hands, neatly embroidered with her daughter's initials. "You don't think he'll kill her do you?"

"To be honest with you, at this point, I'm at a loss for words."

* * *

The conversation with Alice had not gone the way he had hoped. It was written all over Billy's face. The rest of his work day had been god awful, and he finally told his boss that he felt queasy and needed to head home. Before he got to his car however, Billy felt a strong hand on his shoulder that pulled him into an alley way, and pinned him up against the brick way.

He was more than ready to fight until he realized he was face to face with Batman. When his tension eased, so did Batman's grip and the two men stood facing each other in the shadows of the building.

"The Joker has kidnapped Alice."

It took a few moments to let it all sink in, and finally confusion registered on the young man's face. "The Joker? But…didn't that nutcase Jervis Tetch become the Mad Hatter? I don't understand."

"I need to know if Alice came in contact with The Joker at all in the last six months."

Billy's face reddened with shame, and he looked down, rather miserable. "To be honest with you Batman, I haven't seen Alice since we broke up and that was awhile ago. I don't think she ever came into contact with him when we were together, but I don't have a clue what she's been doing the past few months."

Batman nodded and turned to go, stopped only by the hand on his shoulder. "Wait! Do you think he's gonna kill her?"

"The Joker is a radical and dangerous criminal. I won't put anything past him."

Billy's face turned a little whiter, and he nodded. "I need you to keep me updated on her case, because the police won't. If there is anything I can do to help, I'll be there."

Batman offered only a nod before making his way into the shadows and out of the alley. Billy slid down against the cold stone wall; burying his face his hands and wondering what he would do if anything happened to her. In his mind, this was all his fault.

Back at the Bat mobile, as Batman prepared to leave, the communication screen buzzed to life and as usual, Alfred stared back at him. "Any luck Master Bruce?"

"No Alfred, but it did answer one question. When Alice Pleasance came to my office, she wasn't wearing a ring. Apparently she and Billy have been broken up for some time. I bet that Jervis noticed the lack of a ring as well when she went to see him, and that's why he started his pursuit again."

"I see. This does not explain why The Joker was the one to kidnap her. Could it be they're working together?"

"It's highly unlikely. The Joker doesn't play second fiddle because his ego is too large. If he took Alice Pleasance it was probably to prove a point. What he did with her after his point was proven is what I'm worried about."

"Where will you go from here sir?"

"I have to start with my most obvious lead. I need to track down the Joker. Don't wait up for me Alfred; it's going to be another long night."

* * *

He had her, now the question was what to do with her. It was easier to picture acting out his whims and fancies with a girl who wasn't unconscious on the bed in front of him. She looked so peaceful, he was almost terrified to breath near her.

This whole thing was actually more terrifying than Jervis had originally counted on. It was like being in grammar school again, heart pounding and palms sweating every time a lovely girl came near him. The situation was amplified by the fact that Alice wasn't merely a lovely girl; she was the most perfect creature he had ever encountered.

His gloved fingertips reached for her cheek, barely brushing the skin as he moved an errant strand of hair from her face. As he did so, memories came flooding back to him of the first moment they had met at Wayne Enterprises. For most men, gaining a lab all to themselves and a personal assistant were a dream come true, but to Jervis an assistant had only seemed like a nuisance. They were always busying themselves around you at the most inopportune time, and he dreaded to think what havoc a young woman might wreak on delicate experiments. Jervis had been determined to go to work that day and simply ignore whoever sat at the desk outside his office, but what he found that day changed his life forever…

_*Flashback*_

"_Jervis Tetch, this is your new assistant Alice Pleasance. She'll be helping to keep your work in order, because god only knows you need it." Dr. Cates stood near a young woman, who looked far too young to be stuck inside a research facility typing papers for a social introvert. _

"_It's nice to meet you Mr. Tetch. I look forward to working with you."_

_The young girl smiled and offered a small hand, which Jervis took, feeling his knees buckle almost immediately. "Hello Alice it's a measure to pleet you…I mean pleasure to…meet you." Jervis could feel his face reddening. All he could do was toss the day's work on her desk and retreat inside his laboratory. _

_As he entered, he could hear Dr. Cates scolding his manners and apologizing for his rude behavior. Jervis turned his attention to the poster on the wall of his new laboratory. He eyed the young girl at the head of the table, and the large nosed idiot offering her a pot of tea, and suddenly felt very self conscious. _

_*End Flashback*_

Jervis was pulled out his reverie as Alice shifted on the bed, groaning a little in her drug induced sleep. He frowned at the thought of how roughly the Joker must have handled her, and how much his pride hurt to know that it took that clown to bring her home.

The Joker…how he loathed him. Most of the time The Joker was easily ignored, because it wasn't as if they ran in the same social circles, but every now and again he got under Jervis' skin like no other. Amongst Gotham's other villains, he was the bully in the schoolyard His sense of superiority to practically everyone around was frustrating and absolutely intolerable, since in reality, everyone knew that Harley had come closer to wiping out the Batman than the Joker ever had. The fact that he had succeeded where Jervis had failed was embarrassing, especially since he was sure he only did it to make him look dumb in Harley's eyes. This was preposterous! Didn't he become the Mad Hatter to get away from those who tried to make him feel small? Perhaps some life roles were unavoidable.

He watched her for a long time, knowing she dreamed innocent dreams he would never understand. He could have spent the entire night here watching over her, until a dreadful thought struck him. He was unprepared…entirely empty handed to receive her in her new home. He had planned on roses carefully placed on every available surface, and a box of her favorite candies to ease her emotions. Since the Joker had beaten him to it, the room was barren. It was a very poor reception indeed.

"Oh…what to do, what to do…" He whispered to himself, standing and pacing a few steps before an idea hit him. He had plenty of time to go and procure the things he needed before the gas ever wore off.

Willing his courage, he leaned over her, letting his lips barely flutter at the corner of her mouth. The thrill of contact sent his pulse racing, and he took a moment to slow his breathing, knowing that another massive panic attack would ruin everything.

"Farewell my darling Alice. When you awake, I will have turned this room into a fairy tale fit for a princess!"

His heart renewed, he turned and left, clicking the lock on the outside the moment the door closed. A few moments passed, and when she was sure it was safe, she sat up looking around the room. Unfortunately for dear Alice, Jervis' hopes of being her prince had played out better than he thought. His kiss had woken her, but she had been smart enough to keep her eyes closed until at last she knew she was alone.

* * *

"Are you mad?"

"Aren't we all?"

Pamela Isley stood, arms crossed, looking very sour. "This is the exact reason that I stay away from men. All any of you want to do is lock us women away in dark caves like the Neanderthals you are!"

"Really Miss Isley that is a very insulting assumption."

"Assumption?" She blinked a few times, reminding herself that if you're going to stalk around the city in green tights talking to plants, you couldn't really be surprised to find yourself associating with the mentally ill. "Jervis there is no assuming. That girl in there would have come to you if she wanted to be with you."

"But she did. She came to me in Arkham, practically begging me to tell her that I loved her."

Pamela sat down, drumming her fingers on the arm rest of an oddly placed loveseat. "I heard the story you told Harley about what was said in Arkham, and to me, it sounds like she was blaming you for ruining her life."

Jervis could feel the heat rising in his face as his anger began to rise. He wanted to strike the woman in front of him, but he reminded himself that he was a guest in her home, and Alice would only fear him if she knew he had hit a woman. "Be that as it may Miss Isley, I have now been granted the extraordinary opportunity to right a past wrong. If you'll excuse me, I have tokens to purchase."

Pamela watched as Jervis hopped into the elevator that took him to the surface. He was humming an obnoxiously happy tune, rocking on his heels as he vanished from sight.

* * *

Alice could feel her heart pounding, just as it had in Arkham, and in the limo, only the sound was becoming deafening in the silence of this room. Her eyes began to wander around the very elegant accommodations that Jervis had provided for her, sick to find the color scheme rather reminiscent of her childhood bedroom.

The bed she rested on was so soft, it was tempting to lay down again and close her eyes, but the terror of what she would find when she awoke kept her from action. It was obvious that Jervis had spent a great deal of time and money to make sure she was comfortable, and had the circumstances been different, she would have been touched.

Though she still felt dizzy, standing was not as hard as she had anticipated. She walked to the vanity, sitting in front of the mirror where she took a good hard look at her haggard appearance. In the soft, almost candle like light of the room, she noticed that her lack of sleep as of late was causing dark circles under eyes. She looked paler and more gaunt than she had in ages, and to her scrutinizing gaze, even her eyes seemed less blue.

She heard the door click and immediately she sprang to her feet, grabbing the silver brush off of the vanity as a weapon. To her surprise, a woman dressed all in green with fiery red hair entered instead of Jervis, carrying a tray with tea and small sandwiches. "Put the brush down honey and relax. Of all the things you now have to worry about, I'm not one of them."

Alice kept the brush in her hand, "Who are you?"

Pamela set down the tray on the coffee table in the sitting area before walking over to Alice. She grabbed the brush from her hand before setting it down, and placing a comforting arm around Alice's shoulder. "There now, isn't that better?"

The older woman smiled, and Alice went along, to unsure of the situation to fight just yet. The two women sat, Alice on the couch and Pamela on a chair across from her, and Pamela poured Alice tea, which she passed to her across the table, and which Alice did not take. "They call me Poison Ivey."

"Pah…Pah…Poison Ivy!? The Plant Lady!?" Immediately Alice's hands flew to her mouth, knowing that may have been the most insulting way she could have said it.

Pamela went very serious a moment, before her lips formed a tell tale smirk. "Yes I suppose that's a good description." She took a sip of her tea, pushing the plate of sandwiches closer to her guest. "I hope you like cucumber sandwiches. I never prepare meat."

Alice picked up her cup, eyeing the liquid.

"It isn't poisoned if that's what you're worried about. I think the Joker has done enough of that for one day." She frowned with distaste, setting her cup down.

Alice took a sip of her tea, resting it on her lap. "You don't sound like you like him very much."

"I don't."

Alice nodded, wondering why she assumed that all the villains in Gotham would be good friends. She set the cup on the table with care, losing herself in thought. "I don't like him either."

"I can't imagine you would after the day you've had." Pamela could almost feel her heart soften a bit for this woman. She had a habit of forgetting that not every woman in Gotham had the privilege of living their own life how they saw fit. She and Harley really did lead a charmed life, when Harley wasn't wasting her psychology degree to play dummy to the clown prince of nothing.

"I don't understand how you people live like this." It wasn't said with any true animosity, but Alice's words hung in the air for quite some time, and neither woman spoke, until Pamela saw fit to break the silence.

"Exactly what do you mean by 'you people'?"

"I didn't want it so sound like that; I just don't know what else to call any of you. You're not just thieves and murderers. They don't dress up in costumes."

Pamela actually cracked a bit of a smile, coming to sit next to Alice. Alice stayed very still as she neared, watching her with great trepidation. "Honey, let me explain something to you. This outfit that I wear is not a costume."

Alice quirked a brow, but waited for Pamela to finish.

"It's the real me. When I put on street clothes that is my costume and it's the same for any us. We didn't wake up one day and decide to start living life as if it were a play, we all woke up one day and knew that if we were not true to ourselves we would burst. A death of the soul is a terrible thing."

Alice looked at her hands, unsure if she could actually buy that explanation. "So, why do all of you hurt others and take things from people?"

Pamela could see why Jervis would be so interested in this girl, because in the crazy world in which all super villains lived, her naïveté was actually rather refreshing. It was different at the very least. "We all have our causes, just the same way those deemed normal do. I fight because man kind is killing our planet, and since trees cannot scream, I must scream for them."

"So you honestly believe you're doing a good thing? But what about Jervis? He isn't crusading for anything, he just, showed up at my house one night dressed up like the Mad Hatter."

"That is a question you'll have to ask him. A man's motivation is a very personal thing Miss Pleasance."

* * *

Outside the door, Jervis stood with his arms full of red roses, listening intently to the conversation the two women were having. Inwardly, he was very angry that Pamela had the audacity to wake Alice up from her much needed rest, but once he heard the familiar clinking of tea cups, he was soothed, knowing she had brought his Alice nourishment.

He was thankful that the walls were so very thin in this makeshift home he had created, because he could make out everything. He knew that Alice saw him and rest of his brethren the way he had suspected she would, as dangerous criminals without a category to call home. He would happily tell her anything she wanted to know, just as long as she showed some interest in who he was.

* * *

"What do I call you? Poison Ivy? Or…"

Pamela took a breath, deciding that maybe a little trust from someone would put this girl at ease. "Actually honey, you can just call me Pam."

"Alright, than please call me Alice. I'm afraid that I'm not very hungry, so please don't be offended if I don't eat what you've prepared."

"Alice, it's…"

Both women stopped as the door clicked open, and Jervis stepped in holding the roses. He didn't enter the room like the triumphant villain, eager to claim his prize, as Alice had expected. He shuffled in to the room, obviously trembling with a blush that tainted his tanned skin. "Alice, it's…so good to see you up and about. I have brought these roses as a small token of my affection. I…hope that you will accept them."

Pamela watched the scene before her with renewed interest. Spending so much time away from people had made her forget how unique human interaction could be. She had stereotypes set in her mind as to how this meeting would go, but the scene was entirely different. Jervis was not confident, nor was he clever in his approach. His tone was unlike anything Pamela had ever heard from him before. Jervis was always known for English gentility, but the amount of respect and adoration for whom the words were created almost floored her.

Her eyes turned to Alice, who sat demurely on the couch, hands delicately folded in her lap and her eyes firmly settled on the coffee table. Pamela had expected her to react as any kidnap victim would react, with screaming and violence and panic. Instead, what she was witnessing was more akin to the first meeting of two shy lovers from some story book, too well written to be real. This was an intimacy she would never know, and so without a word she slipped past Jervis and left, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"Alice?"

Tears began to roll down her pale cheeks, but she did not openly weep. Jervis rushed to her, the roses falling from his arms and landing in a sea of red and green at her feet. "Alice my darling, what's wrong?"

"I don't want to be here Jervis. I want to go home."

His heart squeezed in his chest painfully, as he gathered his offering back in the bouquet it once was. "Oh Alice, please do not ask that of me. I will grant you anything you ask, but please do not ask me that."

He laid the roses on the table, pained that she didn't even make an attempt to smell them or touch them. It made him wonder if he should even bother to bring the rest in at all.

"Jervis, why did you do this horrible thing?"

There was, indeed, a reason that Jervis had become the Mad Hatter, and Alice saw it in his eyes as his sanity snapped and his left eye twitched dangerously."

"This horrible thing?" He said it so softly and with such menace, that Alice caught herself holding her breath.

"This…HORRIBLE THING?!?" He stood, kicking the coffee table between them with great force, sending the table flying and the roses with it. Alice tried to scream, but the sound caught in her throat. She jumped up; trying to get to the other side of the room, but her feet would not carry her fast enough. In a jumble of movement and chaos, Jervis grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him and pull her close against him.

The fire in his eyes was terrifying, and it made her head spin. "Jervis, no…"

"You were starving to death after that brute abandoned you. I saw you in Arkham, dressed in barely disguised rags with the weight of the world written on your face. Miserable, miserable, miserable! Your parents left you to fend for yourself…Wayne Enterprises tossed you into the street…Why must the blame be MINE!!!!!"

Jervis could feel pain in chest again, though thankfully not as acute as the last time they had met. His rage had blinded him, but now that he took a moment to actually see the woman in his arms, he noticed she was shaking and crying.

He almost pushed her off of him, looking at his hands as if they were foreign to him. He kept his eyes off of her as he spoke, his tone dropping to a less maddening decibel. "I have given you a beautiful room, new clothes, and have ensured that you will be nourished and safe. How else can I show you that I care?"

Alice fell to her knees the moment they lost contact, looking small and broken on the floor of what Jervis knew in his heart was cage. She didn't answer him, wouldn't answer him, and the moment was beyond apologies for his show of brute force. Disgusted with himself, he backed out of the room, locking it behind him. From within the room he could hear her sobs, and he began to sob himself, sinking against the door until he was seated on the ground.

He held his head, digging his fingertips into his scalp until it caused him pain. His mind shot back to Arkham during Batman's trial, and fateful words kept ringing in his ears…

"_Couldn't you just have respected the girl's wishes and left her alone?"_

"_I'd have killed her first!"_

Jervis began to rock, shaking his head violently as Alice's sobbing became almost choking. "No…no, no, no…Oh Alice, I'm so sorry…but you….we…we're all mad here."


	7. Chapter 7

_As always I'd like to thank those who read and review, because it makes me feel like I write for a reason. I'd also like to thank the readers for their patience with this story. I'm trying to build things up naturally, so I apologize if the pace seems a bit slow. With that said, I hope you enjoy the next chapter in our little drama. Be safe and happy reading!_

**Chapter 7: A Wall of Silence**

"Where did you say you were going Master Bruce?"

"I need to pick up the Joker at a charity fashion show they're holding tonight at City Hall."

The communication screen flickered as the Batmobile went through a tunnel before tearing out into the woods near Wayne Manor at an alarming speed. "What on earth is the Joker doing associating with models?"

"It's one of his newest jokes, turning the sublime into the wretched. Commissioner Gordon said that the models began laughing mid show until they finally collapsed."

"Oh dear. Any survivors?"

"No one in the audience was harmed, but the first policeman on the scene called the ambulances, saying the models weren't moving and they had grotesque smiles plastered on their faces. No one survives the Joker's laughing gas."

The screen flickered once more, just as the Bat mobile passed through the last tunnel that led straight to the heart of Gotham. "He didn't flee immediately? Does he normally stay around this long after a joke? It would seem to me it would kill the punch line."

"Normally yes, but tonight he's holding the Mayor's daughter hostage. She was the guest model. She never made it on the stage."

"I see. Do be careful Master Bruce, I can bandage up many things, but even I have my limits."

Batman grinned, reaching for the button to end the connection. "Goodnight Alfred."

* * *

"Little Laura Hill has certainly grown up."

"Yeah puddin', she got big didn't she?"

Harley danced around the young red headed woman, who sat in one of the business chairs in the upper office handcuffed to the arm rests. Her musical folly would have continued, had the Joker not drug her to him by the collar of her outfit. "If you reiterate everything I say it makes me sound like an idiot!"

"You don't need Harely to make you sound like an idiot Joker, you only have to open your mouth."

The Joker released his hapless hench woman, laughing to himself in his usually shrill manner, sending chills down Laura Hill's spine. The young girl eyed Batman standing in the window in all of his glory, and like most citizens who simply didn't understand the Dark Knight, became even more fearful. Her cries and struggles verged on annoying, until she felt the cool barrel of the gun pointed at her head. "Chill out doll, or your Uncle won't like the way he gets you back."

"Ah Batman," The Joker turned with a flourish, "I've got a bit of light entertainment for you this evening. I've been in a great mood this week and I thought I'd spread the joy, so we're going to play a little game."

"Cut the nonsense Joker. We're going to resolve this, and then we're going to have a little chat about Miss Pleasance."

The Joker laughed, practicing a bit of selective hearing as he motioned to Laura. "Harley!"

"Right away Mista J!" Harley grabbed the back of Laura's chair, pulling it on its wheels towards the elevator, which Batman quickly noticed was open but without the compartment. As he made a move to head after them, he felt a swift kick to his midsection.

"Tsk, tsk Batman….sloppy move…not your best tonight. This should make the games more interesting. But we have to play by the rules and it's Harley's move first!"

The chit chat stopped as the Joker felt the familiar sting of a fist to his jaw, which sent him sprawling to the floor. As he tried to kick Batman's legs out from under him, Harley hurried her pace. "Ok doll look, I got some business to take care of. This ain't nothing personal."

Earlier in the evening, she had cut the cables, sending the elevator crashing to the bottom of the shaft. This meant that as the door opened, nothing but a dark abyss lay before the two women. Laura began to scream behind her gag. Harley glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the battle that raged behind them. "Ok tootse in ya go!" With a swift kick, Harley pushed the chair into the shaft, and as quick as a blur Batman jumped in after her.

Harley waved at the couple as she watched the two dots become specks before her eyes. She turned, walking over to the Joker who lay on the floor, almost in the fetal position. "Puddin' you ok?" She rolled him over, pleased to see that tell tale grin, and totally oblivious of his glassy eyed stare.

"Oh good, you're ok! Listen, I gotta step out for the night, but everything is going great here so I'll see you tomorrow. Night!" She planted a very sloppy kiss on the clown's unmoving lips before making her exit.

* * *

The door to Arkham's evaluation room flew open, and in walked Batman, dragging a bloodied but gleeful Joker behind him. Pulling a chair out from the table, he practically slammed the mirthful clown into it, who at the moment could not contain his laughter. The scene at City hall had left the Dark Knight with a very short fuse, and every moment it grew shorter.

With a sickening thud, the Joker's head hit the table. "Brutality! Brutality! I know my rights!"

The hand on the back of the Joker's head squeezed, lifting a little, only to slam it back down again. "You mistake me for the police. As long you're in here with me Joker, the outside world doesn't exist, now talk!"

"What do you want to chat about Batsy, the weather or maybe whether or not blondie is still alive?"

"Where did you take Miss Pleasance?"

Batman let go of the back of the Joker's head, which only plastered a larger smile on his face as he sat back, snickering and eyeing his cuffed hands.

"If I had known her disappearance would prove to be such an inconvenience for you Batman, I would have done it ages ago."

Under his cowl, Bruce could feel his blood pressure rising. Most days it was easy to stay cool, but considering Alice Pleasance had been terrorized by one of his ex employees and fired by his own company, he felt very responsible for the girl's well being.

"It doesn't make any sense Joker. What could she possibly be to you? Surely you're not playing henchman to the Mad Hatter…"

"I don't work for anyone!" The Joker stood up in his seat with a great flare of drama; the largest vein in his neck bulging to the point of busting. Batman tried to hide his smile, always amused by the fact that the one weakness the Joker had was his own ego. One day, he knew, it would be his downfall.

"It doesn't seem like that to me, it seems like the Mad Hatter hired you to kidnap Alice for him. Times must be tough Joker, for you to accept outside work."

A tirade was bubbling at the surface, but the Joker pulled back, sitting in his seat once more. In his twisted mind, he knew that letting the Batman think he done something terrible to the girl for no reason, was far funnier than admitting he had taken the girl to get Harley to come home and show Jervis how pathetic he really was.

"Well maybe hat man is rubbing off on me. I am very impressionable. Just look at the life of crime Gotham dragged me into!"

The Joker wasn't taking the bait, and just as quickly as the game started, Batman ended it. "You've murdered five women tonight. You're going to go away to Arkham for a very long time."

"That's what they always tell me."

"I'll find her you know, with or without your help."

"That's what I love about you Batsy, your determination! Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go to my cell and take a little nap."

Batman looked up at the door, where two guards entered and escorted the Joker out, who was back to laughing hysterically. "Off with her head! Off with her head!"

Batman frowned, listening to the Joker repeat that phrase over and over until he was gone from view. Now the only way to find out what happened to Alice Pleasance was to track down Harley Quinn, and unfortunately, she was hardest to find when she worked on her own.

* * *

"Oh no, you're not doing that in my home." Pamela Isely took the blue head band away from Jervis, snapping it between her hands and sending sparks flying. "You will not use your mind control nonsense on that girl or this is all over Jervis, and I will hand you over to the Bat myself."

Jervis looked momentarily stunned to see Poison Ivey sticking up for anyone either than herself, Harley, or the world's vegetation. He tossed the small screw driver onto the dining room table before trying to rub the sleep out of his bloodshot eyes. "It would have only been temporary."

Pamela pulled a chair out, straddling the back of it as she looked to Jervis' uneaten dinner. "No it wouldn't have and you know it. She would have been more terrified of you after you took it off than she was when you put it on."

Jervis laid his head on the table, staring out into the living room. Perhaps Alice would have been with him by the fire tonight, if he weren't such a coward.

"Jervis look, it's been a week since you've even bothered to look in on her."

"What on earth does she need me for, when she has you to speak with every night?"

"Oh stop pouting. " The red head frowned, pushing her full lips into an ugly shape. "You brought her here to talk, so not talking to her is rather counterproductive, don't you think?"

"How can I face her?!" Jervis stood, letting his chair tip backward. "I put my hands on her. She'll never speak to me. I'm the most miserable of men!"

"You think that silence will fix your screw up?"

Jervis chewed on his lower lip, feeling his cheeks flush. "I'm going for a walk." With that he headed for the elevator, and just as he pushed the door to open it, he found that it was actually heading down to their level, and when it opened, Harley popped out.

"Hi Jerrvy! Hey Red! I'm hooooooome."

Jervis walked past her without a word, stepping into the elevator and heading to the surface to wander off and clear his head.

"Sheesh, what's wrong with him? Trouble in love town huh?"

"He hasn't seen her for a week."

"What?!?"

Pamela sat down in Jervis' previously occupied chair in the dining room, pushing around the remnants of his mind control device with her finger tips. This entire situation was becoming far too volatile for her liking, and that was saying something, all things considering.

"They apparently had some sort of fight after you were dragged out of here a week ago. I had made myself comfortable in the living room down here, seeing as it technically is my home, and I started to hear screaming."

"Oh is that all? Screamin' ain't much to worry about Red." Harley sat at the table as well, amusing herself by balancing the screw driver on her finger.

"I only heard his voice, and when he finally stopped sobbing outside her door and left, I went to check on her. She was almost in the fetal position by the fireplace, and it looked like Jervis pretty much wrecked the sitting area."

"Oh, sounds like he really is serious about this girl. It's all very romantic." Harley popped a bubble, beginning to chew her gum louder as she lost herself in thought.

Pamela pulled a face as she stood, realizing that trying to explain the severity of such an emotional outburst, was a mute point to a girl who lived with a psychotic clown. "So why aren't you off with the Joker?"

"Ah, Bats busted us when puddin' was having fun with the models at City Hall. You kill a few glam girls and everyone freaks."

"So why aren't you in Arkham?"

"He kept questioning Mista J about Alice, so I figured I better come here and tell Jervis to lay low."

"Won't your puddin' be angry when he gets out since you ditched him?"

"Mista' J ain't that easy ta catch ya know!" Harley stood and walked past Pamela into the kitchen, poking around in refrigerator for anything edible. "Man Red, I'm gonna make sure to eat with Jervis more often. He has lots of great stuff stocked in here."

"Eat at your own risk Harley. I had to listen to Jervis rant and rave for nearly two hours as he obsessed over what her favorite foods might be."

Pamela stopped as she heard the handle on Alice's room jiggle ever so slightly. The makeshift house that Jervis had created under ground wasn't big enough to hide all the little noises that went on. She frowned a bit as she went over to undue the lock.

"Hey Red! What are ya doin'?"

"I'm letting her out for a bit. This is ridiculous that she's been cooped up in that room all week." Pamela hardly knew what was coming over her. It wasn't that she was normally totally unfeeling, but usually she could let the human race pass by her without much notice. Alice, however, reminded her a great deal of herself before she decided to become Poison Ivy.

"Hatty ain't gonna like it."

"I'm not concerned with what Jervis likes and what he doesn't at the moment. He is on my turf and I will not let him dictate how I act Harle." Pamela popped the lock with a flick of her wrist, turning the knob and pushing the door open. She found Alice in the doorway looking very thin in the brighter light that came from the hall. "Come on out..."

Pamela and Alice had spoken a great deal over the past week, and though it wasn't nearly as often as Jervis had speculated, it was enough that the girl trusted her…or at least as much as someone can trust anyone in these situations.

"I'm sort of hungry." Alice moved out into the hallway, walking with Pamela to the kitchen without another word spoken. Alice saw the blonde woman sitting at the kitchen table, eating from a container of rice pudding with great excitement.

"Alice this is Harley Quinn, otherwise known as the Joker's right hand woman. Try not to hold it against her. "

Alice sat at the table, shaking Harley's hand as she offered it with great reluctance. Even a week later, she couldn't get the image of the Joker popping up in that front seat out of her mind.

"Pleased to meet ya doll. Ya want some? It's real good!" Pamela smiled to herself as she listened to Harley behind her. Despite the woman's neurotic tendencies, she still had a very giving heart.

"No thank you."

"Suit yourself. Just don't ask Jervis for it later cause it won't be here." Harley indulged in another spoonful of the creamy pudding, humming and licking her lips as she went.

"Alice," Pamela held the fridge open, finally turning to the two women at the table. "There is plenty of food in the fridge, but I'm not willing to dig through all this meat to find you something. Feel free to help yourself because Jervis won't be coming back for awhile."

Alice stood and made her way to the fridge, searching for food. Pamela and Harley now sat together and had mutually made up their minds without saying a word to one another, that as long as Jervis was away, they wouldn't discuss him at all.

* * *

Jervis didn't venture far away from the sanctuary, and only decided to head back once he realized this was the easiest way for him to get picked up by Batman and have all his plans ruined.

Bringing Alice here like this had been a mistake, but it was too late to turn back now. All he had wanted to do was shield her from the harsh world and make her see he wasn't the monster she saw him as…but then again maybe he was.

He was happy to feel the warmth of the interior building and the movement of the elevator as it took him back to his home. He had expected silence when the doors opened, but what he actually heard caught him off guard…laughter. He followed the sound to the kitchen, where he could smell hot cocoa and the sounds of Harley telling one of her famous stories.

"…so naturally I hit him with a cream pie! Boy was he angry…"

Pamela chuckled in spite of herself, never ceasing to find amusement in her friend's actions. Alice on the other hand was near tears, laughing so hard at Harley's antics, her sides hurt. She didn't say much as she sipped her cocoa, but the laughter was music to Jervis' ears.

"You'll find Alice, that slapstick is Harley's answer to practically everything."

"It's like Mista J always says, comedy is all in the timing."

Jervis shuffled into the room, standing in the doorway, watching the happy scene from an outsider's perspective. Alice was finally about to speak up when she noticed how still Pamela and Harley went, knowing their girl night had just been ruined.

"Red I'm staying here for the night…so…I think I'm gonna shower and hit the hay." Harley stood up, stretching dramatically and yawning on cue as she quickly headed out the door. "Night Alice!"

Pamela stood as well, and though Alice's eyes begged her not to betray her and abandon her now, Pamela grasped the young woman's shoulder, bending to whisper in her ear. "You're stronger than you think."

Alice watched Pamela walk out, taking a sip of her cocoa. Jervis stood by the doorway looking miserable in his Hatter suit, minus the hat. This situation was disturbing and traumatizing, but maybe Pamela was right, maybe she was strong enough to get through it. "Are you going to take me home?"

"I told you Alice; please don't ask that of me." He inched closer, like a man sneaking up on an animal, fearful of it bolting. "How is your cocoa?"

"Chocolaty. Harley makes very good cocoa." The answer seemed too ridiculous in this setting, but it was all she could come up with.

Jervis nodded, taking a seat across from her. She was so beautiful; it hurt him to look at her. The old familiar creeping insecurity took hold of him as he basked in her presence, feeling very unworthy to be anywhere near her. "The time has come to talk of many things…"

"That sounds like another quote Jervis. If you insist on having this conversation, I need you to speak to me as Jervis and not as the Mad Hatter. Can you do that?" Inwardly Alice applauded herself for her show of bravery.

"If I must put on a show in you in order to speak, then so be it."

"So Jervis Tetch is a character?"

"He used to be a real man…oh yes…a real man who walked in the real world and was filled with real wants and needs. Then the real world betrayed him, and he had to find a new reality."

"You mean I betrayed you?"

"The problem with you, my dear, is how limited your mind is at times."

"Jervis!"

This was escalating very quickly, just as it had the last time, only this time, Jervis was thinking clearly enough to know it was time to call it quits for the night. "Normally I would welcome any conversation at all from you my dear, even this mindless banter, but tonight I think I need sleep and you need to go back in your room."

Alice put her cocoa down slowly, letting her head droop and her eyes water. Remembering the last time she had argued with him, she decided she simply wasn't up for it tonight. Her brief display of confidence had all but dwindled into nothingness. Without another glance in his general direction she stood, and made her way into her room, shutting the door. From the outside, Jervis could hear her crying.

"This is impossible…" He touched the door, letting his hand slide down the wood surface and drop to his side. "Oh my Alice, what a monster I am to make you cry." With that he turned and headed down the hall to his own room, shutting the door quietly.

Pamela stood in the next room, arms crossed and angry for reasons Harley couldn't understand. For her own part, Harley was sitting on the arm of the couch, dabbing tears away from her own eyes. "Gee Red," she said softly, "this isn't a very fairy tale like ending is it?"

"Fairy Tales don't exist Harle, but if we're ever going to have peace again, tomorrow we have to find a way to fix this, either by getting them to talk or smuggling her out so we can have our own lives back."

Harley nodded, following her friend to the elevator for real this time. As the women ascended to the surface, Pamela's brain began to ache as she tried to figure out just how to accomplish such an insurmountable task.


	8. Chapter 8

_First, I have to apologize for not getting this chapter out sooner. As can happen with part time writers, life gets in the way. I know it's been grueling watching lots of unhappiness between Jervis and Alice in this story, so I hope this chapter does something to alleviate some of the agg_r_avation. Enjoy._

_

* * *

  
_

Chapter 8: A Meeting of Minds

The next day brought the earliest snow storm of the season that any Gothamite could recall. Jervis noted the small flurries picking up intensity as he made his way back to the green house, arms full of packages. He let the cold air fill his lungs with each breath, watching it dance before his eyes with every exhale. Despite all the dreadful things that had happened the night before, today he felt renewed. The danger of this reckless outing was lost to him, and the Batman was a afterthought tucked safely away in the vault of his mind.

Winter was always a magnificent time and never ceased to bring childhood to the forefront of one's memories. Snow had always been one of Jervis' favorite things, because only it had the true power to change the landscape and make it seem more like, well, a wonderland. Evergreens that were once boring in their simplicity would soon be covered in white, almost reminiscent of cotton stuck to the tips of each branch. The bending boughs, burdened with icy weight, looked so very inviting if one could forget about the danger of dallying in the cold too long. The snow also dampened the noise of the city, creating calm almost unheard of any other time of the year. Days like this made Jervis sympathize with Victor Freeze.

Pamela's refuge came into sight soon enough, setting itself apart from the landscape like a wound. Trees and pathways gave way to mangled gates, hazard signs, and partially exposed waste barrels sticking up through iceless muck and mire. What looked like an abandoned shack was actually a greenhouse, where Pamela had managed to keep all manner of plants alive despite the radiation. Jervis had respected the symbolism of this place from the very start, citing the importance of this beauty amongst destruction. Beyond the doors that barred the outside world, one knew that they had found Elysium amidst the barren gloom of Hades that Gotham represented. He could never quite decide if it were the citizens or the villains that had made it so.

The interior warmth of the greenhouse was a sharp contrast from the biting air just outside the door. The smell of roses and peonies always tickled his nose when he entered, and if he closed his eyes he could envision Alice's apartment full of blooms that he had lovingly chosen. It was the one beautiful memory from a night that had gone horribly wrong. Jervis could do nothing but smile, however, because what he had planned for the evening had the possibility to make everything alright.

* * *

As the elevator opened in the underground, Jervis spotted Pamela exactly where he expected her to be, which was by the fire. He mused over her curious affliction as he walked to the kitchen, humming an odd little tune.

Pamela was so entwined with the natural world that every year Jervis noted the change in her when winter came, like Demeter losing her daughter. She became moodier and more withdrawn and on days like this, with the snow falling at a rapid pace, she too became almost dormant. He would leave her to her book for now, seeing no reason to excite the barrage of questions that would soon follow.

In the kitchen, Harley sat at the table, picking marshmallows out of a box of Sugar Smiles. She only smiled and waved as Jervis walked past her to the counter, setting parcels and food containers alike down on the surface.

"Miss Quinn, surely you realize you're going to make yourself ill."

Harley smiled, resting a sucrose laden heart on the tip of her tongue before pulling it into her mouth to be savored. "If you're gonna do somethin' Jervvy, ya might as well do it all tha' way!"

He nodded, pulling out a brown paper package, tussled up with butcher's twine. Harley quirked a brow in confusion, before popping a shamrock into her mouth, "What're ya gonna do with that?"

"It's a roast Harley, I intend to cook it."

Harley's eyes widened and she laughed, waving a hand in the air as if to waft away the absurdity of his statement. "You're funny Jerv! Pam does the cookin' around here, doesn't she? I ain't never seen you cook anything."

"It is true that I haven't cooked in quite a few years, but I know how to do it Harley. There was no such thing as convenience food when I was growing up. I dare say that my mother's love for the culinary arts has rubbed off on me."

"You had a mother?"Harley's curiosity was obviously peeked, because she quickly stood and made a dash for grocery bags on the counter. Inside she found a bag of red potatoes, some spices, and some things she simply could not identify. "Red isn't gonna eat meat ya know."

"Oh, I realize this. That is why this particular dinner is just for two."

"Jervvy I ain't gonna eat without Red! How could you ask her ta starve in her own home! The whole thing is just!..."

Harley's tirade ended quickly with a hand placed firmly over her mouth. "Have you forgotten our guest Harley? I'm going to cook Alice dinner and I ask that you and Miss Isely spend the evening in the upper house tonight."

Harley nodded slowly, sporting a goofy grin when Jervis took his hand away. She playfully punched him in the arm before grabbing her box of cereal and heading off to join Red in the living room.

As crazy as those two women were, in his heart they would always be like family.

* * *

Alice turned the page of her book, scooting as close to the fireplace as she could. The one good thing about her captivity was the time it allotted her to read. Between work, her parents, and everything else in her life, quiet moments to just take in information were scarce.

She had also begun to perfect the art of listening during her stay. Though the voices were muffled, she could always differentiate between Pamela and Harley, and at this point she could tell when fights were just about to start and when they were going to die down. She knew every time her room filled with that distinctive whirring sound, that someone had either gone up or come down the elevator, which unfortunately took a key to get into.

Using simple deductive reasoning along with her listening skills, she had figured out that once again Jervis had left the underground for a period of time. She could hear the muffled baritone of his voice earlier, then the elevator, and then nothing but female voices for over two hours. The next hum of the gears meant he had come back, and she knew by the high pitched and low pitched mumbling in turns that Jervis and Harley were talking. The only thing that always bothered her was what exactly they were talking about.

Jervis had never been the sort of man to prattle on and on about his emotions and his inner most workings, so what did he discuss day after day with his fellow felons? Did criminals chat about mundane things like the weather? The idea was preposterous and yet Alice had to keep reminding herself that Jervis was indeed human, despite the psychopathic tendencies he leaned towards these days. Human beings had thoughts and emotions like everyone else.

It was natural to think of him a great deal now, as he had forced himself into being the center of her world. She relied on him for all her basic needs, which meant she was very concerned with when he left and when he came back. Her brain could never train itself to simply think on one track, and so at times she also began to analyze her captor in great detail, picking apart every interaction they had ever had.

She wondered what made a man like Jervis fall in love with her, out of every other girl out there. It almost saddened her to think it might actually be as superficial as her name and her looks and an obsession that had obviously stemmed from his childhood. It made her suffering seem pointless and stupid, and terrifying because it meant she was expendable if another girl of her make came along by chance and did pay him attention. Would he then kill her? Would this room become her oubliette? No, for her own sanity, she told herself every day that whatever Jervis felt, it was genuine in his own mind.

There was also a guilty, darker side to her thoughts that Alice only entertained late in the evening when she knew that all the undergrounds occupants had gone to bed. What would it be like to allow love from a man who desired her enough to lock her away from the rest of the world? Attention from such a man was perverse, but morbid human curiosity always wondered what would happen if she gave in. Few women were ever given the chance to rise above normal status and achieve an almost goddess like femininity. Jervis had worshipped her in silence at Wayne Enterprises for years, but Alice had been to naïve to see the altar on which she stood.

These thoughts kept spinning in her mind, and she forced herself to think of Jervis as a man and not a monster. She strolled through her memory and analyzed the look in his eyes when he saw her and the way he said her name, "Alice…."

"Alice?"

She turned, her heart crashing in her ears as she realized she had been caught daydreaming by the fire by the very man who occupied her mind. Jervis looked worried, cautiously standing in the door, almost praying for a reason to cross the threshold.

"Jervis? I'm sorry I didn't hear the door open."

"No need to be sorry, Alice my dear. I would be a fool to think caged birds never dream of blue skies." His voice was painfully soft as he looked around her room, barely touched and hardly lived in. Alice could see remnants of a good mood in danger of flying away, and she had no energy to argue with him tonight.

"Did you just come to check on me me? Or…"

Jervis looked to her, taken from his own reverie, and finally remembering the package he held in his hands. "I know that you told me that…gifts were simply unacceptable in this situation…but…"

No matter how angry he made her, Alice always felt a wave of pity for Jervis when he tried to speak to in a blatantly jittery tone. She stood and dusted bits of carpet from her legs before moving closer. Jervis held the package out for her to take, and Alice noticed that he was holding his breath.

"Jervis I just don't think that…"

"Please Alice…" He shocked her, by dropping to his knees before her, holding the package up like some ceremonial offering. "It isn't much but I want you to wear it tonight, and join me…possibly…it should be done soon…dinner…that is."

Alice blinked, looking down at the man in front of her. This situation became more dramatic as time wore on, that was for sure. As soon as he mentioned the word dinner, she finally noticed the aroma of freshly prepared food that had entered with him. Her stomach gave a tiny rumble in hopes of offering some persuasion. She reached out with her hands, taking the box from his trembling arms.

Jervis stood, smiling his toothy grin as he relished his small victory. "I will leave the door unlocked. Please come to the dining room when you're dressed."

Jervis bowed out of the room, closing the door soundlessly. Alice quickly moved to the bed, tossing the box onto it. She was very nervous all of a sudden, realizing that without words, she had agreed to join him for dinner. She feared the worst lay in that box, but when she opened it, all of her worries seemed to dissipate. It wasn't some indecent ensemble for him to leer at her in or another sick remake of a children's storybook costume…it was simply a dress…a beautiful dress.

She took it out, looking at its simple lines and tasteful embellishments. It wasn't a fancy dress, but it certainly wasn't plain. It was a very feminine shade of pink, with sleeves that would not come very far past her elbows. Both the sleeves and the hem of the dress had a gentle ruffle in the same material, also echoed in a very modest neckline. This dress was so familiar to her, and finally the more she stared at it, the more a realization dawned on her.

Jervis didn't pick this dress out, she did….

She remembered when she had first come to Wayne Enterprises; she spent most of her lunch breaks ogling Gotham's fashion magazines, still in awe of the romance of high society that living in a city brought….

**Flashback**

"_Alice, what a lovely dress! It'll be a smart purchase." Dr Kates stood peering over her shoulder, smiling in approval of the page Alice had settled on. _

"_It's lovely isn't it?"_

"_Where are you going to wear it?"_

_Alice laughed, setting down the magazine and turning to Dr. Kates with a smile. "I could never afford a dress like that, at least not on a secretary's salary."_

"_But your father…"_

"_I'm trying to prove to my father that I don't need his money, and I can survive on my own. I'd send him pretty mixed up signals if I stood by my principles until I wanted a pretty new dress."_

_The older red head looked down at Alice over her glasses. "That's a very mature outlook Alice."_

"_I've made myself a promise, that when I become a successful woman in Gotham, I'm going to buy myself this dress. When I see myself in it in the mirror, I'll know I've become an independent woman I can be proud of."_

_If was obvious Dr. Kates' smile was patronizing, but Alice didn't care. She saw within that dress the woman she wanted to be. She looked up again from the magazine on her desk, and finally noticed her employer, Jervis Tetch standing in the door, watching her with a contemplative expression. In seconds he was gone again, locked away within his lab._

"_Is he always that skittish?"_

"_If it's one thing you'll learn while working for Jervis Tetch, it's that all geniuses are oddballs, and you'll learn to tune him out just like everyone else."_

**End Flashback**

It was her turn to hold this dress with trembling hands. Its' sentiment brought tears to her eyes that she brushed away as she went to go and put it on.

* * *

Alice stepped out of her room, wearing the dress as proudly as she expected she would. Despite the circumstances, it did make her feel like she had earned it. She may not have accomplished total financial independence, but she had survived enough in Gotham to make her feel like she was truly her own woman.

She stepped into the dining room, letting the scene before her take her breath away.

The underground's richly decorated dining room, in its blues and gold's, was lit with a full candelabra that afforded a warm glow. There were two place settings, opposite one another at the table. The whole room was full of flowers, despite it being the dead of winter. The enchantment was wearing off as she remembered that night in her apartment. Instinctually she took a step back, needing to get away from the heady perfume that surrounded her, but her motion hit a warm wall, and her entire body became still.

She could hear Jervis behind her, and feel his warm breath tickling the back of her neck as he labored through each breath. He was holding himself back from something, but she wouldn't let her mind dwell on it. She could feel the heat from his body touching her back, even though their bodies just stopped short of actually touching. It was the first time Alice noticed that his cologne had a very spicy scent to it, almost like incense.

She turned, regarding him in the dim light, the candles creating shadows that played across his features. His eyes were very dark, almost depthless, and frighteningly unreadable. He took a step back to afford her room, his eyes never leaving her. It was then that she noticed the white rose laying on the floor by his side, that he had clumsily dropped and made no move to retrieve. She kept her eyes on him and she stooped to pick it up, offering it back to him. He did not move.

"The rose…is for you…."

"Uh…thank you." She cocked a brow, staring at him staring her. "Jervis, are you alright?" She suddenly feared he might have another attack, like he did in Arkham. If he died here, she would never get out.

"I…I'm fine." He shook his head a bit, blushing, as he furiously tried to clear his thoughts. All at once when his senses came back to him, he raced to pull a chair out for her. Alice waited a moment, staring at the chair before heading over to settle herself in it.

As he sat down across from her, she finally noticed that he was wearing his Mad Hatter ensemble, minus the hat for courtesies sake. She felt a bout of poor humor coming on, as she mentally compared this dinner to the Mad Hatter's tea from the book. She almost laughed as she thought of this possibly being a good sequel. She could see the advertisement in all the best book shops reading: _Alice in_ _Wonderland 2: The Big Date_.

She must have let a little smirk slip, because all of a sudden Jervis looked stricken. "I know it isn't much…"

"No everything looks fine." She stared at the covered dishes in front of her, praying for conversational inspiration. "So, the dress…"

"You are a vision my dear, as I knew you would be."

"You overheard me talking to Dr. Kates about this dress. You didn't buy it then did you?" Alice looked as if she were on the verge of being rather creeped out at the thought of Jervis buying the dress and keeping it all this time. Fashion did go in and out of Gotham very quickly after all.

"No, I did not buy the dress that day. I did however tear that bit from your magazine when you threw it out." Jervis blushed, keeping his eyes on the task of uncovering all the food. "It took a bit of research and looking, but I managed to find it in your size."

Alice didn't bother to ask how he knew her size in the first place, instead letting her senses take over as steam began rising from porcelain dishes.

"Since it's snowing outside, it seemed only fitting to make something hardier and warming. I hope you like pot roast and mashed potatoes."

The idea of Jervis cooking pot roast was just ridiculous, and Alice finally let a little giggle slip past her lips, which she quickly stifled. Her smile faded fast as she saw the anger in Jervis' eyes and felt the table jump as he slammed his fist upon it. "You mock me?"

"Jervis, no…I…"

He stood up, shaking with rage. People had laughed at him all of his life, and having it come from the creature he adored most in the world, was very nearly sending him over the edge.

"I spent all evening making this for you! Just for you!"

This wasn't going to happen again, not here and not now. She stood and rushed to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. She could feel his whole form quaking with rage beneath her palms and she silently prayed the moment would not turn to violence. After all, there wasn't a soul here to come to her rescue.

"Jervis I wasn't making fun of you…I just, never saw you as the chef type."

"So you were laughing at me."

"No, I just pictured you in the kitchen with an apron, tossing around ingredients and it struck me as funny." Alice tried to smile and hopefully convey this was no big deal, and Jervis did seem to soften.

He nodded, looking down with shy eyes once more. The thing that would always scare Alice the most about the man before her was his tendency to go from rage to severe shyness in a matter of moments. That kind of instability was volatile.

"Please forgive my outburst, dear Alice. Shall we?"

Alice nodded, seating herself and patting herself on the back for tempering the situation.

* * *

Up above ground, in Pamela's home, the two women sat in her kitchen, listening by a vent that led underground. "Gee Red that was close!"

"Harley if you don't stop making so much noise, they're going to figure out we can hear them. Didn't the Joker ever teach you anything about stealth?"

Pamela waited for a response, but after recognizing the blank look on Harley's face that meant she was failing to process, Pam waved her off. "Never mind, just keep your mouth shut."

* * *

The rest of dinner passed in silence. She may not have said anything, but Jervis could tell the way she cleaned her plate that his venture had been a success. When she was busy paying attention to cutting her roast, he could capture a moment to savor the way she looked by candlelight. Her blonde locks took the light, turning it into a glow that made her seem like some ghost of a vision to a dying man. Alice didn't need fancy jewelry and clothes to make her beautiful, in fact Jervis was certain he could put her in the ugliest of clothes and she would still shine. It was her purity and innocence that made her radiant and it wasn't the kind of radiance you could buy at the cosmetic counter.

"Jervis?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you, say it was snowing out?"

Jervis nodded, pushing a bit of green bean around on his plate. "Yes it was when I came in. I imagine it still may be."

"Oh, I see."

Jervis immediately noticed that she looked crestfallen, and she too began pushing the food around on her plate.

"Alice…"

"I never miss the first snow of the year. It's my ritual to take a walk and just enjoy watching everything cover over. It's hard to imagine I won't see it this year."

Jervis could feel his chest constrict in an anxious way. This dinner was supposed to make her happy, and possibly lead to the conversation he so desperately wanted to have with her. "There will be other snows."

"I know."

A long silenced passed as Jervis weighed his options. If they stayed inside, her mind would be on the snow, as it obviously represented yet another thing this captivity had taken from her. On the other hand, if he took her out into the snow she could escape or Batman could be waiting for them. He sighed, wondering why the dress and dinner couldn't be enough for her.

"Well then, if it is snow that will make you happy, by all means we will go out into it."

Alice's head shot up, and she waited a beat for him to retract his statement. When only silenced filled the air, she stood, barely able to contain the joy at the thought of having fresh air after ages of being cooped up.

"You mean you'll actually take me?"

"Yes and I am trusting you not to run away. I need your word, on your honor as a lady, that you will come back down with me when it is time."

Nothing else in Alice's mind mattered besides the fact she was moments away from open spaces and fresh air. "I give you my word."

* * *

Jervis had the foresight to buy a coat and gloves for her, never knowing if he would have to move her for safety reasons having to do with the Bat. He was very glad of it now as they made their way through the woods. For Pamela's sake he had blindfolded her, so if she ever did escape, she would never be able to lead anyone back here.

When they were safely away from anything remotely incriminating, he removed her blindfold, unveiling a world covered in white. Though the moon was tucked away behind clouds, the area gave off its own illumination.

"Oh Jervis, do you smell that? Nothing smells quite like freshly fallen snow."

She closed her eyes, turning her face up to the sky and letting the lacy pin points settle on her eye lashes.

Jervis stood, watching her, unable to join her in her merriment the way he wished. To play in the snow together like children…two free hearts joined together in a place where the adult world could not touch them…this would be his paradise.

Alice finally opened her eyes, turning to see Jervis just standing there looking awkward and uncomfortable. As she got closer to him, she noticed he was also shivering. "You stay warm if you move you know."

"I'll be fine my dear, just enjoy the snow, because we won't be able to stay out very long I fear."

Alice stood and contemplated the consequence of action as the snow continued to fall around them. Her morbid curiosity tickled at the edges of her brain as she watched Jervis, looking very alone amidst the ice covered trees. Could she allow herself to share a moment with him without worrying about the consequences? She never had power like this before. To be solely in control of someone's happiness was intoxicating and invigorating. There he stood, watching her with trepidation as she began closing the gap.

Tomorrow there would be questions, regrets, and a great deal of damage control. Tonight there was snow, a lovely dinner, a new dress, and two warm bodies aching from the cold.

To both their surprises, she came very close to him, taking his hands in her face. It was in this moment that she realized what a frail emotional wreck Jervis was. He didn't move and he didn't breathe for quite a few moments as she caressed his face, their bodies barely touching for the second time this evening.

She watched his eyes very carefully as she allowed her body to press against his. Jervis' eyes became glossy with tears as she tilted her head up towards his.

Their lips met and he allowed his arms to circle her waste, spreading warmth between them. It was a moment of innocent curiosity for them both and Jervis took in every second of her soft lips and how perfectly her small form fit in his arms, all the while praying she would never pull away. When she finally did, only then did he allow the tears to slip down his cheeks and onto her own.

"Alice…I love you…"

"I know Jervis…I know."


	9. Chapter 9

The plot thickens...thank you as always to those who review. I must admit it makes me write faster! ;)

* * *

**Chapter 9: We All Fall Down**

* * *

There were certain sounds that Alfred could always count on when the elevator let him off at the mansions lowest level. The first was the soothing drip of water off the stalactites to the cavern floor, where they pooled and awaited even more liquid. The second was the call of the bats as they used echolocation to find one another in the vast darkness of the underground. The last sound was something rather uncommon to these caves, and that was the whirring sound of machinery.

The largest of the computer screens was exceptionally active at the moment, flicking through pictures that looked like microscope specimens, until a click of some unseen button brought the screen to rest on a particular greenish blue picture.

"Studying up on your High School Biology Master Bruce?"

Usually, Bruce Wayne sat in the darkness as himself, but tonight he sat in the darkness as Batman, and Alfred knew the Lobster Newburg on the tray would be cold and ruined within the hour.

"Tom Pleasance has put out a $50,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to Jervis Tetch's capture and his daughter's safe return."

Alfred nodded, pouring coffee in a cup he knew would never get touched. "I'd imagine that has everyone in the city doing foolish things."

Batman sat back in his chair, eyes narrowing at the screen before him. This case had become his white whale, and like Captain Ahab, he was beginning to experience the madness of the chase.

He moved the stack of yellow envelopes off his lap, tossing them carefully onto the first clean counter space he spotted. The smell of the Lobster Newburg, whose sauce was now chilling and separating in its decadent puff pastry bowl, only reminded him that food had not been a possibility at lunch and would not be possible for dinner. He knew Alfred meant well, and tried to serve him in the manner he had served his parents, but no one could swing from rooftops with that sort of brick in their stomach. The aroma of it, as usual, was intoxicating. Sometimes he wondered if giving up the pleasantries of life to be Batman was worth it, and then he thought of the fear in Alice Tetch's eyes and how close cutting out meals had brought him to the answer, and he knew it was.

"Commissioner Gordon has been sending over everything that people send to him. Unfortunately, a lot of it is purchased items from the costume shop on Derren Street. People keep sending in hats and bow ties, claiming they belong to The Mad Hatter."

"Have any of these daring citizens ever heard of DNA?"

"Apparently not..." Bruce Wayne tugged the cowl of his hood back, shocking Alfred as he picked the coffee cup off the tray. People made him angry when they treated the police as if they were idiots. No one in their right mind would ever fall for the story of an average citizen, managing to pick the hat off the head of a member of the rogue's gallery. People had no respect for the job or the lifestyle of those who kept them safe at night, and yet Bruce Wayne pitied their gullibility.

"The only sound piece of evidence anyone has turned in, came from a clerk at a grocery store two days ago. He said that he rung a guy up with Jervis' description, and when he exited the store, he closed his line to try and collect evidence. He sent the mud from the shoe he found to the crime lab and Gordon sent it to me. This is what I've come up with."

Once again Alfred's attention was directed to the large screen with the bluish green matter. "My own science education is rusty, but those look like plant cells."

Bruce Wayne hit another button, and a smaller screen in the right hand corner popped up with an image of a news article that dated back five years. "Scientists in Gotham were experimenting with using algae to break down Uranium in run off water from the nuclear plants."

"Really? How did that turn out?"

"The project was abandoned due to lack of funding, but no one told the algae that. It's apparently thrived in the toxic wastelands on the outskirts of Gotham."

"So now your best lead is finding someone who lives in a toxic dump?" Alfred raised a skeptic eye brow, trying to tidy up a stack of books that were precariously close to the edge of the desk.

"Yes, and thankfully I think I know just who to talk to."

With a few clicks of the keyboard, all other images blacked out, leaving only one, and that was the black and white image of Poison Ivy.

* * *

Jervis slept fitfully both nights after his encounter with Alice in the park. In his tormented dreams he could still feel her body so very close to his, and the soft sensation of her lips fluttering like butterflies over his own, melting his reason and driving him mad. Did any man love a woman as he loved his Alice? He thought not….

It had been like a bizarre dream, with all of Gotham dressed in the purity of white to mark this miracle.

_Their lips met and he allowed his arms to circle her waste, spreading warmth between them._

If she wasn't right down the hall, he'd believe he dreamed the entire scenario, but it had happened….her actions…her words…

"_Oh Jervis, do you smell that? Nothing smells quite like freshly fallen snow."_

It tore at him…all of it….

"_Alice…I love you…"_

"_I know Jervis…I know."_

…and no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept playing the events over and over again. Especially cruel were the moments after their lips finally parted.

_Jervis could finally feel her pulling from him a bit, and ever the gentlemen, he slackened his embrace until his arms finally fell away; useless at his side. The woman before him, eyes aglow, cheeks rosy, and lips swollen from their encounter, was like a deity, and his eyes silently worshiped her. _

_She looked embarrassed, casting her gaze away from him and over to the horizon of flocked trees just to the right of them. "Jervis that was…"_

"_A miracle…"_

"_What?" She raised a delicate brow, obviously not agreeing that the past few minutes could be lumped into such a ludicrous category. _

_Holding his hands to his heart, he danced in a circle, kicking up a fine mist of snow that the wind took and carried off like a ghost. "My patience has been rewarded with a miracle of miracles. How curious faith becomes when prayers are answered .How wondrous and glorious is fate and the path it has put me on! "_

_Alice could see the tears falling freely from his eyes as he rushed to her, kneeling before her like a knight returning to his princess. Unfortunately for Jervis, Alice could only see him as the fool. No matter how many times he gave her proof of the depth of his madness, it never ceased to shock and bewilder her. _

"_Jervis I…"_

"_You need not be embarrassed my love, as I am not the sort of man to lord such an event over you. Love could never judge you for the past, and love will not judge you for the present."_

"_But Jervis…"_

"_Oh pish posh, you needn't explain. This is the happiest of nights…the most glorious of moments…" He stood and pulled her into a spin, circling around one another at arm's length as if they were two children, merrily indulging in a game of 'ring around the rosie.'_

"_Jervis it was a mistake!"_

_Suddenly all motion stopped, and he stared at her incredulously as the snow fell around them. He looked wounded far beyond the measure of health as he staggered away from her, and his normally bronze kissed skin had taken on a deathly pallor. "Come again?"_

"_I got caught up in the moment Jervis and…I was acting foolish…impetuous… I wanted to correct it now before I gave you the wrong idea." She rubbed her arms, feeling the wind pick up._

"_You…needed to correct…my happiness?"_

_Alice could feel nervous butterflies forming in the pit of her stomach. She was out alone in a secluded area, muffled by snow, with a madman with whom she had just foolishly played the coy maiden. _

"_That isn't what I meant…I didn't want to hurt you m…"_

_He put up a hand to silence her, and just when she thought she would surely be dead, he lowered his gaze, speaking in a barely audible decibel. "Come Alice; let us get out of the cold."_

Jervis tossed and turned in his bed a bit more as hot shame washed over him. His words were so revealing and she cast him off without a thought. The very replay of the things he said made him want to sob with embarrassment. He could also remember the pitying looks of Pamela and Harley as they re-entered the underground. Once Alice's blindfold was off, she made a run for her room and locked herself in. It was starting to become such a habit with her; he barely remembered her ever walking to her room calmly at all.

The girls had tried to question him, but for once he allowed his pain and anger to lash out at the only people who cared for him. So, when Harley tried to hug him, he grabbed her by the collar, his face dangerously close to hers as he ground out in a low whisper,_ "leave…me…alone."_

He had done everything he could for that girl to see how he loved her. He had taken care of her and provided for her when no one else in Gotham wanted her… but it was time to cut his losses. How he desperately wanted to kill her.

The first night after the incident, he had fantasized about barging into her room, and taking the kisses from her that he had so desperately craved whether she wanted to give them to him or not. Then he would drag her to her knees before him in fear, as he had once done before her in love. In his mind, he could see himself then closing his fingers tightly around her throat until the spark went out of her eyes…but a world without Alice Pleasance was the end to Wonderland.

His only option now was to force her to listen to what he had to say. He had done this to make her see that he never used her to become a super villain and that there was a reason behind the Mad Hatter, and by God, if he accomplished nothing else it would be that. After that, he would release her to the surface to go about her life as if they had never worked together. He would try and put the fact out of his mind that she would eventually find another to love and marry, and he would forever be alone. The thought made him cold and numb, but the memory of his outburst in the courtroom so long ago, kept him in check. Alice already thought he was a monster, no sense in proving her right.

Yes, after the talk, everything would be over.

* * *

"Ya mean ya kissed him, and then said ya didn't want to? No wander Jerrvy almost tore my head off!" Harley watched Alice incredulously, barely balancing her chair on two legs.

Pamela sat on Alice's bed, listening more intently to the two blonds than she let on.

"I didn't want to hurt him. This has been so stressful. Neither of you understand being held against your will and what it does to you…"

Harley snorted and Pamela's brain wandered to all those lonely nights in Arkham, listening to the screams of the inmates that lasted in to the wee hours of the morning. She thought of her narrow little window that barely let the sun in, and high stone walls that kept the fresh air out…but she knew at the moment this was a moot point.

"Awe Ally, I'm sorry ya ain't havin' such a good time here. I'd like ta stay around longer ta chat, but I'm sure my puddin' misses me!" Her smile broadened at the very thought of the strong white arms that would await her when she got back to the hideout, and the chair finally landed on all fours with a momentous thud. How horrible it must be for girls like Alice, who just can't seem to find happiness.

Every move Harley made, always seemed to have a gymnastic quality to it, and Pamela often caught herself admiring her friends control over her own body. She leapt out of the chair instead of standing, landing perfectly on her feet.

"Does that mean you think your 'puddin' may be out of Arkham?"

"He was in Arkham?"

Pamela could only shake her head at her friend's obliviousness. Naturally Harley thought she was in a loving relationship where if she needed to step out for a few days to help a friend, the Joker would naturally understand and give her the room to do so. It aggravated Pam to know that the truth of the matter was that the Joker had been taken to Arkham the night of the fashion show. Her best friend had unknowingly abandoned that psycho, and would surely come back to her next time sporting broken bones and lots of bruises.

Alice only nodded, never quite sure how to react to Harley's unstable nature. If she squinted, she could pretend that Pamela was quite sane, but Harley never hid her lunacy long enough for Alice to feel like she could talk to her, so when the bouncy blonde hugged her she stiffened. She also found that she had been holding her breath through Harley's goodbye to Pam, and never released it until the door to her bedroom clicked shut.

Pamela was always more seductive in her movements, and her body slinked from its sitting position to standing rather fluidly. Alice was hoping they would have a chance to talk, but the cold glint in Pamela's eyes told her otherwise. She tried not to take it personally, knowing that Pamela didn't like the Joker very much or Harley's association with him.

"Look, Alice, dear…I really am getting very sick of both you and Jervis. I tried to be kind and let this little fiasco play out in the bowels of my home, but I'm tired. I guess I've come to care for you as some sort of friend, but our little relationship is no longer working you see. The two of you are not making progress. Helping you is going to get Harley knocked around tonight, and if Jervis doesn't dispose of you soon, I will personally handle this situation as I see fit."

Pamela moved towards the door, refusing to look back at Alice, who sat wide eyed and hurt on the couch by the fire. "But, we had so many conversations…I thought you were on my side…how could you just turn on me?"

Pamela stopped at the door, staring straight forward. "Honey, what part of psychopath don't you understand?"

With that Alice found herself alone, more scared than she had been the first night of her arrival, and now she had even more confusing emotions to sort through.

* * *

"Puddin' I'm home!" Harley crept around the darkened hideout that was normally teaming with members of the Joker's gang. Tonight however, the entire place was as still as death.

"Puddin?"

It came out of nowhere…a sharp punch to her jaw that sent her sprawling on the floor. She tried to say something, but a swift kick to her stomach forced vomit up instead. Harley was ready to fight, until she recognized the pale gleam of snow white features, barely masked by the darkness. "P..puddin…."

The joker knelt by his sidekick, looking unconcerned at the blood seeping from her split lip, or the ragged breaths she took to keep from suffocating that only caused choked coughs. He grabbed her hair, forcing her eyes to meet his.

"You were a very naughty girl Harley. Do you know where I've just come from today?"

Harley knew better then to speak when he got like this, and could only slightly shake her head no, as the hold on her hair was too tight to allow movement.

"Arkham Harkey…I was in Arkham…listening to the jabs from everyone that the Bat managed to bring me in…but somehow you managed to escape. Do you know how it feels to have your superiority questioned?"

Once again Harley shook her head no. She managed a yelp as the Joker ripped her up by her hair, before throwing her into the card table near the center of the room."

"Of course you haven't! You've never had a superior moment in your life!"

"But muffin, I was sure…you were too smart to get captured by the Bat. I thought you was waitin' for me at home!" As Harley picked herself up off the ground, she knew she should have stayed down…as she noticed the murderous gleam in the Joker's eyes, she knew she should have kept her mouth shut.

"Are you saying that I didn't turn out to be smarter than the Bat?"

"No! Puddin' I was only sayin'…"

She yelped and ducked just in time, as a chair went sailing over her head and splintered in to the wall behind her. She would have been in hysterics at this point, if wasn't all a normal part of life with the Joker.

There was a beat, and when the Joker felt she had paid her dues, the heaviness in the air lifted and all was calm. "It's alright Harley, I forgive you."

Harley stood a little straighter, wiping the blood from her lips on hr sleeve. "Ya…ya do?"

"Yes of course I do. Come here baby!" The Joker opened his arms wide, and Harley squealed and flung herself into them obediently. It didn't matter that she might have a broken rib, because one smell of his cologne made the whole world go away.

He stroked the points of her costume in place of her hair, smiling as if nothing had happened at all. "In fact, I'm very happy with you. You're going to help daddy get something he wants."

"Oh?" She looked up at him, eyes full of adoration.

From within his striped purple jacket, he pulled a flyer that Harley took from his hands as he backed away from her. "What's this?"

"Our newest Joke Harley. I couldn't have written a better punch line myself!"

Her eyes scanned over the picture in front of her. She began wordlessly mouthing the paragraph before her, only allowing the final sentence to slip out into the air…"$50,000 will be rewarded to anyone with information leading to the capture of Jervis Tetch a.k.a The Mad Hatter and the safe return of Alice Pleasance!"

The Joker plopped down into his desk chair, allowing it to lazily turn.

"Puddin' I don't understand."

"I helped Jervis get Alice in the first place. I practically brought the girl to him on a silver platter. Now in an extraordinary stroke of irony, we're going to undo everything we've done!"

"But puddin' Alice is kinda scared of you…how are we supposed to get her ta come with us? I don't think Jervis is gonna let her go so easily."

"That's why we're not going to go in and take her Harley. You've been wasting time helping her so she trusts you. You're going to go in and lure her out quietly, right out from under their noses." The thought of embarrassing both Jervis and Pamela brought a malicious grin to the Joker's lips.

Harley smiled, bounding over to perch herself on the side of her beloved's desk like a cat. "She'll be happier back with her dad anyhow! Hey puddin' when we get the reward, does that mean I can buy some pretty dresses?"

"Harley if this works out to my satisfaction, you can have whatever you like."


	10. Chapter 10

_I am dedicating this last chapter to **mutantsrocktheworld** for getting me off my tush and getting me to finish my first Fan fiction. I am also greatly appreciative to all those who read the story, looked forward to updates, and commented. I was not very good with feedback for those who did do me the honor of commenting, but I plan to fix that the next time around. Now, the conclusion of our story...._

* * *

**Chapter 10: One Golden Morning**

" She's back to locking herself inside that bloody room..."

" I think it's time you faced the fact that the two of you are not meant for one another. Jervis, this is really becoming tiresome…"

The brooding man in his exaggerated top hat sat facing a fireplace as cold and dormant as his heart, and just as black. Every time he replayed Alice's last words in his head he felt nauseous and numb all at once. It's like getting the news that a loved one has died…you never quite recover from the shock no mater how much time has passed. He had allowed himself to reach for the moon, but he certainly did not fall amongst the stars. Fate had only allowed him one shining moment when he didn't have to look back on an encounter with regret, but perhaps he should have been more cautious.

Pamela perched herself on the arm of the couch, scowling at the man before her with undisguised malice.

" I'm not worrying about the two of you anymore Jervis. Are you listening to me?"

A sharp intake and drawn out exhale of air were her only answer. It was as if he had meant to say something biting, but had decided against it at the very last moment. While the two rogues sat in heavy silence, clattering and shuffling could be heard from the kitchen. Moments later a blonde emerged carrying a tray with tea and scones .

"Awe Jerrvy I'm sorry things ain't goin' so good. But look! I brought ya yer favorite tea. Pretty cool huh?"

Harley sat the tray down in front of Jervis, who regarded the kind gesture with mild interest. Pamela watched her friend as she busied herself adding just the right amount of milk and sugar to his favorite English Breakfast blend. When the red head could take the sound of metal against porcelain no longer, she stood, tossing her arms up.

"This is why I detest men! I never should have agreed to help you."

She came round the couch, making sure her lips were inches away from Jervis' ear. Pamela saw him close his eyes, seemingly to will control over his emotions at the possibility of another hateful comment. Jervis could only concentrate on the tickle of air against skin, and wish it were Alice, alone with him by the fire.

"I am going out," she said low and dangerous ,"to pay a visit to the Gotham National Biology research facility before they waste some very precious plant toxins on pointless medical research. When I get home, you had better figure out where you're going to take Alice because I can't have you here anymore. You're a liability."

When Pamela moved away, Jervis remained seated with his eyes closed. She half expected an onslaught from Harley in Jervis' defense, but the young woman only smiled at the two of them and waited for Jervis to drink his tea. Perhaps she was finally taking her side after all.

She pulled on her gloves, and as Poison Ivey fully came to light, the red head moved from the room leaving Jervis and Harley to the silence. He did not open his eyes until he heard the elevator door click shut.

Jervis looked to the tea once more before looking to Harley, who had been without her disguise for over a week now. Her blue eyes and blonde hair reminded him of Alice and it was hard to bare the sight of her, because the tea on the tray reminded him that Harley was far kinder to him than the real Alice ever would be.

"Thank you Harley, the tea smells wonderful."

"Yup! Ok! You drink up and I'll see you later!" Just as quickly as she entered, Harley bounced out of the room and off to do something else. Her obliviousness would never cease to amaze him.

Jervis took the warm porcelain cup in his hands and sat back against the couch, letting the brim of his hat push itself off his head and onto the floor, barely missing his cup. He was moments away from touching the rim to his lips when he lowered the cup again in contemplation.

What made Alice so beautiful to him? Could it really be because of the irony of her name and visage? Would he love her if she were Sarah, or Emily, or Clara? Would her looks be as desirable to him if she had red hair like Pamela or brown hair like his mother? No, he loved her for more than her connection to his favorite story, but perhaps his fondness for her would have taken time to grow without life's cruel irony.

After their kiss in the snow, his dreams had been filled with moments of longing and an aching need. Was it so wrong to wish for someone to reach for in the darkness of the night, and have them reach back? His arms could be as warm and inviting as any mans arms, keeping her safe and comfortable in the early hours of the morning. His lips had the same power to soothe and excite as anyone else, and he was sure that no man would ever love her as he loved her.

He pushed the thoughts away quickly, trying to ignore the stirring in his core at the thought of her. He lifted the cup to his lips, taking a grateful sip of the liquid to quench his sore throat after a night of wracking sobs. Harley had sweetened the tea to perfection, and he reveled in the deep flavor.

As Jervis stared into infinity, he began to realize how mentally and physically exhausted he was, and how much this whole ordeal had taken its toll. For once in days, he put his cup down and allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

The noise of the bar was very distant to Billy's ears, possibly due to the fact he had been there so much as of late, it was almost white noise to him now.

In the beginning he had sipped on rum and cokes, but after weeks of no word on Alice he had moved on to Vodka and tonic…these days the tonic was superfluous. The bartender knew better than to bother the young man with banter, and by now most of the patrons had figured out the same thing. Wallowing in your own guilt is always easily read on one's face.

If he had been an honorable man, he and Alice would be married now in a small house in the suburbs of Gotham, working on a family like she had always dreamed of. He would be bringing her breakfast in bed on a tray with roses, and she would smile that smile that made his heart melt, and life would be perfect.

Billy was not an honorable man, and life was no where near perfect.

Living with his own cowardice was a hell far greater than anything any demon could create, and though the alcohol only made it worse, he could not give it up. He had pestered her parents so much for news about her kidnapping, they finally asked him not to come around. The only thing he could do now was pray for an absence of bad news in the media.

If things didn't change soon, who knows what sort of man he'd become next….

* * *

Alice rarely remembered her dreams anymore, but this one had been so excruciatingly vivid, It commanded her full attention.

She had been dancing with Billy in a ballroom, full of those she knew and loved, and yet she was unhappy. The smells from the banquet, the music, even the heat off of Billy's body had been so tangible to her, that when she awoke in a cold sweat, she was very shocked to find herself still in the underground room.

If her dance with Billy had stayed the same, her dream would not haunt her so…but you see, just like Jervis's stories, the images in her mind had twisted and reformed themselves until she could hardly recognize the scenario.

As Billy bent to claim her lips with his own, she closed her eyes to try and savor the moment, but her heart would not leap for joy. As she held her former fiancé, she could feel the man in her arms change shape into something foreign, but the happiness that welled within her was not. The lips that now rested upon hers were softer and more pleading. Hands that held her loosely now clutched to her small form as if she were drift wood at sea, and the scent of after shave she knew so well was replaced with a spicier cologne that tickled her nose and excited her senses.

When she opened her mind's eye, Jervis was looming over her, guiding her around a dance floor that Billy had been pulling her around moments before. They moved together as one body, dark eyes gazing into blue, and suddenly they were alone. Her friends and family had vanished, and only she and Jervis were left to their waltz.

His expression was persistent as he leaned to whisper in her ear, "Alice…wake up!"

…and she did. It took her five whole minutes to turn the dream over in her head before she noticed that it was Harley who had been asking her to wake up, and not Jervis, and was now trying to coax her back to the world of the waking.

"Gee doll, yer white as a sheet!"

Alice regarded Harley dumbly, thinking that was a rather ironic statement for a woman who sat before her in full harlequin regalia.

"Harley?"

"That's me!" The clown girl smiled brightly, waiting for Alice to let the real world sink in.

"What are you doing here?" Alice found herself very apprehensive at the sight of Harley in her costume. The two women rarely spoke one on one, and whenever she joined Pamela and herself, she was an obvious loose cannon and a catalyst for a great deal of chaos in a situation that just didn't need anymore.

"I've come to bust ya out!"

"You've come to…what?"

"Listen we don't have much time. I slipped some of Reds special toxin into Jervis' tea so he'd take a little nap. I don't know how long it'll last though…"

"But your Jervis' friend, why would you help me?"

Harley stood up and took a pillow case off of one of the pillows Alice had been resting on, before stuffing some of the nice clothes Jervis had bought her into it from her closet.

"Well tootse it's like this….Jervis ain't happy…you're not happy…Red ain't happy…and I know yer daddy would love to get you back. I just want everything back to normal, ya see?"

Harley tossed the sack at Alice, who stood and grabbed for the dress she had laid on the chair. Alice hardly worried about changing in front of the woman, not only because time was of the essence, but because Harley was too preoccupied messing in Alice's jewelry box to really care about what was going on behind her.

"Will…Jervis be ok?"

"Awe of course he will. I didn't give him much."

Alice only nodded, feeling guilty for slipping out and taking the things he had bought for her, so she left them on the bed behind her as Harley took her hand and led her out the door.

They were quick about moving down the hall, but as they passed the living room and Alice saw Jervis slumped on the couch, she stopped.

"Harley, can I have a moment?"

Harley cocked a brow and crossed her arms, anxious for reasons Alice couldn't understand as she gestured to the sleeping man. "Go ahead doll but we gotta be quick.."

Alice found herself looming over Jervis' sleeping form, puzzled by regrets she could never verbalize. She bent over, placing a chaste kiss to his temple, pausing only to listen to the sound of his breathing before she felt a hand on her upper arm tug her away.

"Ok," Harley whispered, " that was real touchin' but we gotta go!"

Alice kept her eyes on Jervis as she was dragged from the room. Her heart squeezed a bit and she wondered if this was the pain that Jervis had been talking about. Her mind was so preoccupied, she hardly noticed the elevator doors close or the sound of the motor that whirred as they made their way to the top. Alice did note that Harley looked very excited and overly pleased with herself, but then again the young woman was a deranged psychopath, so who could say what her outward appearance said for her inner monologue. It wasn't until the elevator doors opened, and she bumped into something solid on her exit, that everything became very clear.

Alice looked up, directly into the eyes of the Joker, who was leering down at her dangerously.

"Oh no…"

Alice had meant to scream…had wanted to scream…but her vision blackened on two grinning mouths before she had a chance to do anything else.

* * *

The pain was unimaginable, almost blinding as Jervis once more found himself in the waking world. As vision cleared, he thought he had seen a shadow in the corner of the room, but when he opened his eyes fully it was gone.

This grogginess was no mere nap, and his suspicions were confirmed as he eyed the bottom of his teacup and found a familiar dark green residue settled at the bottom. This particular toxin only turned green at room temperature.

Jervis leapt off the couch as best her could, frantically making his way down the hall to Alice's room, only to find it empty. In the midst of surveying his dreams crash around him, he heard the elevator coming to rest in the underground, and a rage filled him.

How could Pamela betray him?!?! Had she been so angry that she would rip his world to shreds?

He tore out of Alice's room, finding Pamela in her kitchen still dressed as Poison Ivey and pouring herself some tomato juice. She was so preoccupied with her task, she never saw the man behind her with the murderous glint in his eyes.

Pamela saw stars as Jervis grabbed her by the neck and slammed her head into the refrigerator. She was normally so cautious…this is what she got for trusting people not to hurt her. She forced her eyes open, putting all her energy into a kick to the solar plexus that sent Jervis crashing into the kitchen table.

When he was finally able to stand, he knew better than to let his blind rage send him into an attack with Pamela again. She was adept at martial arts, and he was sure she had cracked a rib by the pain he was feeling…

"Why did you take her from me?!?!"

"Jervis you've gone off the deep end, what are you talking about?"

Tears began to run freely down his cheeks and onto the lapels of his coat as he eyed the red head. "You know very well you slipped me that poison…and now my Alice is gone. Where did you take her?"

" Alice is gone? Jervis I didn't…Harley…"

"It seems there is no honor amongst thieves."

Both Pamela and Jervis froze, looking immediately to the dark figure standing in the doorway of the kitchen, judging them with unseen eyes.

Jervis let out a primal growl, driven by pure instinct as he launched himself at the Bat only to be kicked down once more. He really needed to stop letting his emotions guide him. "oh…I think that's another rib…"

Pamela crossed her arms, scowling, in absolutely no mood to fight. She should have sensed danger when no one came to stop her heist of the plant toxin at the research facility. Batman was obviously too busy infiltrating her home to care anything about the heist. "How exactly did you do it?"

" Algae from the scum Jervis left behind at Freshie's Grocers. It only grows in toxic waste."

"Just perfect…." Pamela slumped into a chair, past all points of the caring for the rest of the night.

Jervis tried to pull himself to his feet, when he was forcibly stood up by strong hands that made him groan in agony.

" It's obvious by this little fight, neither of you knew Harley was going to take Alice. The question is why?"

The two super villains looked at the Bat incredulously. This was not how normal encounters between them went, and Pamela could sense that he was playing this whole thing very carefully, considering how long it had taken him to get this far.

"I have no idea why Harley does half of the things she does Batman, you'll have to believe me on that. She didn't mention a thing to me about this. Maybe she was as tired of this whole scenario as I was."

"You're happy this has happened!"

"You're damn right I am!"

"Stop it!" Batman moved between the two, and it was enough to keep them at bay momentarily.

"Harley probably delivered Alice to the Joker. Harley would never have betrayed Jervis unless that psycho made her think it was a good idea."

Batman narrowed his eyes, and simply began moving to the elevator. Jervis ran his fingers through his hair, looking tired and worn. "You're not dragging us to Arkham?"

"Alice is my top priority, so fortunately for the both of you, kidnapping and theft can be dealt with later."

Pamela slammed her cup down…so he had known about her night's escapades. She was going to take a long hot bath, and relocate before morning. The Bat would not surprise her like this ever again because she trusted those around her, and that was a promise she made to herself, so it was a promise she would keep.

Jervis watched as the elevator doors close, and he carefully replaced the top hat he had retrieved from the living room, on his head.

"Jervis, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going after Alice before Batman gets her killed!"

Pamela shook her head, taking her glass to the sink. "But how will you find her?"

"Harley slipped one evening, and said that she and the Joker liked to take long walks on the docks, so I bet that's where his hideout is."

Pamela snorted at the comment. Long walks on the dock? She never knew that dumping bodies counted as a date.

"I'm…sorry I accused you of her abduction…I just.."

Pamela put a hand up to silence him. " You had better go before the Joker carves a permanent smile into that pretty little face of hers."

The realization that time was not on his side hit him like a brick wall, and he took off for the elevator, barely allowing it to situate itself before he hopped on and headed for the surface.

Pamela stood in the empty kitchen a moment, letting the silence hit her. In the past few months she had started to prefer the warmth of the underground home to her own domicile above, despite all the dysfunctional things that occurred here.

It had been so nice to have people she had begun to trust in one place, that she could return to whenever she wanted….but that was all over now…

Oh well, she thought, having family was nice while it lasted.

* * *

Batman waited in secrecy outside of Pamela's hideout, and just as predicted, Jervis came running out obviously on his way to Joker's hideout. The Mad Hatter would lead him to Alice, and finally he could put closure on this Wonderland nightmare.

* * *

"But puddin' I thought we were gonna give Alice back to her father!"

The Joker descended the last few steps into the basement, unceremoniously tossing Alice onto a pile of old newspapers and broken down boxes.

"Harley, what have I told you about asking me to explain the punch line!" He rounded on the smaller woman, who cowered a bit though she put on her best smile.

"Uh…don't?"

"Exactly! But since you've done such a good job, daddy will let you in on the laugh since you're too dumb to figure it out for yourself."

Insults aside, Harley clapped her hands and perched herself on a barrel full of god knows what, legs outstretched and gloved hands keeping her balance.

"With Alice here we can lure the Batman. We'll give him a second chance to fix his screw up, only to take the victory again and leave him with nothing. A few days later I'll send the girls dead body back to her father, proving to Gotham once and for all that the Batman is not their savior!"

"Puddin' that's genius! …hey…You mean we gotta kill Alice?"

"Sending her back alive is very anti-climatic. Poor Harley, it must exhaust you to keep up with me."

Harley hopped off the barrel, walking closer to Alice. She had always been so kind to her, but if her puddin' thought that this was best, then it was best. "Ok puddin' but, when the time comes, let me be the one to off her huh? I owe it to her to make sure she doesn't suffer."

The Joker frowned, but shrugged. "You're goin soft Harle…but as long as she'd dead I don't care how it happens."

"Awe puddin!" Harley ran, jumping into the Jokers arms who always took a bit of an ego trip every time Harkey gave into him, and it always put him in a good mood.

"Alright Harle…lets go figure out how to get Bats secure in that net enough to let him watch us walk off with the girl!"

"Oh puddin! We could…"

Alice heard their voices trail off as the door shut and left her in the room alone with the lantern that Harley had brought with them. She had played dead as long as she could, but unfortunately, her good acting couldn't keep her from hearing the Joker's horrible plans for her. She would never see anyone that she loved again. After unsuccessfully tugging at the ropes that had her hogtied, she simply buried her face and began to sob.

* * *

Jervis was very aware that the Batman had been following him since he left the underground, but he refused to let his impetuousness ruin things now. He knew very well that without his mind control he could not best the Joker. Even with his superior intelligence, the Joker made up for his deficiency with brute strength and reckless violence. The Mad Hatter would never be known for his physical strength.

Batman was both clever and strong, so when Jervis finally noticed that he was no longer following him, he could only conclude he had gone off on his own to find bigger fish. All he could do now was hope that he could find Alice while Batman and the Joker battled it out.

He wandered and finally found himself at the old delivery entrances for the building. There were lots of doors that had once led to coal shoots that in turn led to basements where the coal was stored. There wasn't anything remarkable about the entrances at the front of the building, but one of the shoot doors around back was noticeable less aged and rusty. It made sense that the Joker would be keeping her somewhere hidden.

He had two choices…he could either go on his instincts and see where it led him or waste more time wandering around doing nothing. The choice was simple, and all at once Jervis found himself sliding down a long shaft that seemed to go on for ages, until it finally dumped him out into a dimly lit room.

There, tossed aside like so much garbage, was Alice. Jervis was appalled at the condition of the Joker's prisoner…not only was the man deranged he was a true animal. He was sure in this moment that the man didn't have a gentlemanly bone in his body.

He crawled along the floor, immediately putting his hand over Alice's mouth. Her eyes shot open and before she could scream, she saw the face of the man above her and actually relaxed. Perhaps he could be her white knight after all.

"Alice, darling, I'm going to get you out, but you have to trust me." He set about undoing her ropes, pleased with her silence. It was a non-verbal agreement that whatever differences they had in the past, it would not effect them now.

Once she was free, Alice sat upright and let her body get used to a normal position. Jervis felt braver than he ever had and rubbed her shoulders a bit to ease the ache of being in that unnatural position for so long. He also examined her wrists, passing fingertips over raw skin. "I'm so sorry my love…it was my stubbornness that got you into this foul mess."

" How are we going to get out?"

"You're not claustrophobic are you?"

Alice warily turned her head to the open coal shoot, looking back to Jervis with an air of disbelief.

"Alice, it's the only way. Is the Joker upstairs? Was it Harley who took you?"

Alice only nodded, fearful to say anything else and possibly be heard upstairs.

Jervis stood, offering her a gloved hand that was once white, but now tarnished and frayed from his descent. "The shaft is very old and dented very deep in places. I am positive that we could climb back up and out with sheer will. After all, if they made it large enough for a human to pass through, logic states that humans probably had to go up and down them at one point."

"Couldn't you just use your mind control on the Joker and we could walk out the front door?" Alice held her shoulders to ward off the cold and the damp of the room.

Jervis smiled faintly, touched to the core. "It warms me, my dear, that you think so highly of my abilities, but sadly this is the only way."

Alice nodded, and the two began their ascent to the world of light.

******************************************************************

"Are you sure he's in there Master Bruce?"

"Yes Alfred. I'm hoping he wasn't foolish enough to hurt Miss Pleasance."

"Well, I would tell you to be careful, but I was never one to waste words. Dinner will be ready when you get home."

Bruce smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement under his cowl as he pressed the button that severed the com link. He was thankful to have Alfred in his life. His dry sense of humor and calm examinations of his employers dangerous behavior, made all of it seem normal. Normalcy was a rare commodity in a world of caped crusaders and masked super villains.

With a finger, he flipped down his binoculars, and immediate streams of data streamed into his line of vision, along with the Joker and Harley, who were busy setting a trap.

"Time is making them predictable…." The details were different, but the bigger picture was always the same. It would begin with punches and explosions, and end with malicious laughter and thinly veiled threats.

Who was he to mess with the world order of things?

Batman flipped the binoculars back up, he pressed a button and sent his grappling hook streaming through the sky to the roof of the warehouse where the infamous duo hid out.

It was time to begin their dance once again.

* * *

It took a good twenty minutes to finally reach the light. Jervis found himself listening for Alice's breathing the entire way to know that she had not slipped and fallen away from him. To lose his precious Eurydice now would be unbearable.

As soon as he helped her out of the shaft he took her hand and they ran as fast and as far as they could, coming to rest behind another abandoned building. Both of them sat on the crates, catching their breath.

"You came to rescue me….thank you…"

Jervis looked at his hands, taking the ruined gloves off and tossing them to the ground. There would be no repairing them anyhow. He took Alice's hands in his own, flesh to flesh, and looked into her eyes with a longing that almost scared her.

" Batman followed me here and is no doubt on his way to rescue you. There has been a…conversation I have been meaning to have with you since Arkham, and I fear this will be my last chance. I need you to listen quietly…before he takes you…can you do that?"

Alice looked to their joined hands, and nodded, before meeting his eyes once more.

Jervis took a deep, ragged breath, that sounded vastly more painful as he exhaled. "You accused me in Arkham of targeting you and using you to become the Mad Hatter. I desperately need you to know my love…that it isn't true."

Alice parted her lips to protest, but the look in Jervis' eyes reminded her of her promise, and she quieted herself.

"When I was small, I lived in a home of contradictions. My father would lecture me day and night about the virtues of chivalry and code of conduct and my mother coddled me incessantly, and barely let me experience the world outside our home in the English countryside."

He took another deep breath, trying to figure out how to condense all the things in his heart to fit in the limited amount of time he had been given.

"When I rebelled and snuck out, I often found him in the local pub, laughing and drinking with women who were not my mother. It explained why every time father went out, mother would lock herself away in the bedroom, claiming she felt ill. My sister survived it all by leaving at night herself, and not coming in until the wee hours of the morning."

Jervis loosened his tie. Even though it was winter the day was unseasonably warm, and he found himself roasting beneath his own clothes. Alice, on the other hand, looked positively frozen, and so as any good gentleman would, he draped his warm coat around her shoulders, which she silently accepted.

" My dreams made more sense than the reality of my own household. I began to reason that if my father could be a sinner preaching redemption…that my mother could be a manic depressive who constantly spoke of love…and if my sister could embody rebellion veiled by conformity…perhaps I needed a duel nature as well to fit in."

" I would read my mother's favorite story over and over, feeling as if I too fell down the rabbit hole each morning when I awoke. I identified with young Alice, but more so I identified with the Mad Hatter, constantly hosting a party of contradictions and trying to keep it all in balance."

Jervis looked to the bay; thoughtful.

"Much to my parents dismay, as their marriage fell apart, I fell into the story more and began running around the house constantly quoting Lewis Carroll until it drowned out the lies they told of our happy family. Jervis Tetch could not fix his home, but the Mad Hatter could make it go away."

Alice also looked to the bay, taking the story in and making her own conclusions.

"I grew up, attended Princeton after moving to America on my own, and became a scientist. My parents tried to keep in touch but I refused to acknowledge them. People in America were no less cruel to me than people in England and it was easier to keep to myself and read…losing myself in stories once more."

He looked to her, reaching out to touch her cheek, but letting his hand fall away instead.

"After years of loneliness, and resigning myself to a world of make believe, an angel of mercy walked into my life. She was as compassionate as she was beautiful, and as innocent as she was kind. The fact that her name and her face resembled my favorite literary heroine, was only a bonus."

Alice kept her eyes on the horizon, never one to take compliments well.

"I seized an opportunity to be by her side, and I do not regret my actions. I came as the only man I had ever felt comfortable being. It all ended very badly and very painfully for all involved. The only thing I do regret, is your pain. I have done a great deal of soul searching Alice, since this whole fiasco began and I have come to the conclusion that you could have purple hair and carry the name Emily, and I would still have come to love you.

My life may be full of fairy tales, but there is nothing fictional about the depth of my feelings for you."

Off in the distance, there was a loud explosion, and smoke billowed towards the sky. Jervis sighed and checked his pocket watch. "I'd guess that the battle is winding down and our time together is almost up. What a pity it always ends the same. Time marches on Alice," he stood, "and us fools follow. Unfortunately there is no pre-requisite for change."

"You could change…."

"I beg your pardon?"

Alice stood as well, looking up into Jervis eyes. " We could try Jervis, you and I…you could stop being a criminal and we could run away and try…"

Jervis' eyes filled with tears, and he raised his hands to cup his angels face and tilt it more towards him. "Oh Alice, you see you didn't wait for the end of my story." Tears fell from his eyes, landing on her pale cheeks that rolled off and onto the ground like pearls upon satin. " I was never Jervis Tetch pretending to be the Mad Hatter…my realization? I was always the Mad Hatter, pretending to be Jervis Tetch."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a black show moving towards them both, racing through the lingering light of day like night following at Apollo's heels. He took his moment to lower his lips to hers, and they shared their second kiss, only this time, both parties meant every minute of it.

"Tetch! Let her go!"

Jervis pulled back, whispering into Alice's ear. "I'm afraid you don't understand me as I thought you did my love…but one day you will, and when that golden day comes you will find me, and then we can be together."

Jervis pulled back only to find that the tears on Alice's face were not entirely his own. He put his hands in the air to show that he was unarmed. Alice turned to the Batman, stepping in before he had a chance to strike.

"I'm not pressing charges…"

" Miss Pleasance you are under…"

She took her head band off, tossing it on the ground. She shook her fingers through her hair and then began tossing off all pieces of jewelry and anything else that could be misconstrued for one of Jervis' mind control devices. "I'm not under anything. Jervis is guilty of kidnapping but he also rescued me from the Joker. I'm asking you to let him go…"

Both Batman and Jervis stared at her with confusion, but Bruce's wisdom told him that this wasn't the way this particular story line ended. He nodded and extended a hand to Alice, who walked towards him obediently.

She turned once last time to regard Jervis, and the look that passed between them was all either of them needed.

* * *

_For those currently staring at the screen in either confusion or anger...please refer to the epilogue or chapter 11_


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue:

The night of the battle, Harley and the Joker ended up in Arkham, but Poison Ivey had fled Gotham long before the Batman could come and find her or the plant toxins.

Alice had been happy to get home to her parents, who were slightly taken back, but accommodating when she began to inquire about getting her hands on some of her inheritance early. This had allowed her to move back to the city that she loved and live comfortably while she figured her life out.

Billy had been waiting for her outside her new apartment as soon as he had gotten wind of where she was moving. With his arms full of roses and his lips full of promises, Alice would never forget the words that passed between them…

" _Alice baby…I'm…I thought that psycho was going to kill you…"_

_Alice could see that he had lost a considerable amount of weight and his handsome face was marred by black circles and worry lines, but a great part of her simply could not feel pity for him. She had looked much the same in the beginning. Perhaps this was Karma…_

" _I wanna try again…life got so crazy….Alice you know I love you…"_

_Alice walked towards her former fiancé, and cupping his face in her hands. She leaned into him, but much to Billy's dismay, her lips landed at the corner of his mouth instead and it was too chaste for his liking._

" _I'm sorry Billy. I would love to settle back into a normal life with you, but you were right…when one of Gotham's super villains touches you life, you're changed forever. I now know how to get my life back, but it can't be with you…."_

_Billy looked more than wounded, but part of him knew that this ending was his own doing._

" _I can't forget that you walked out on me during the roughest period of my life . We'll always be friends…"_

_Alice did know exactly how to get her life back, and as she stood on the docks near the bay at 5:30 one fine spring morning, she knew she was exactly where she needed to be. Five months of thinking had done a lot for her piece of mind. _

_A figure approached her like something out of an old black and white movie, fully dressed in a long trench coat and a hat that hid the face from view. The person sat next to Alice on a bench, and the two of them sat in silence for a good five minutes before a gloved hand passed a piece of paper to Alice, that she quickly opened and read._

"_Are you sure this is where I need to go to find him?"_

_Her companion nodded, finally lifting its head to reveal two piercing green eyes and a hint of red hair. _

" _I can't thank you enough for this…"_

"_I'm just glad to see you two finally got your act together. Goodbye Alice…" Pamela stood and made her way off the docks as quickly as she had come._

_Alice sat, paper in hand, smiling to herself as she watched the sun begin to peek over the horizon. It lit up the sky with red and an orange so bright and so clean, Alice was positive the day would be golden for sure._

_The End._

_

* * *

Keep an eye out folks...I'm thinking of a sequel after I get my Labyrinth Fic out of my head and uploaded. Ta Ta for now.  
_


End file.
